The Protectors Right
by Kitara Kujin
Summary: The end of the war had finally come, but Harry Potter, the boy-who-just-freaking-couldn't-die, ended up with a surprise from a most unlikely friend. Choosing another path in his life, Harry will have to decide between duty and love.1x2 3x4 5xHP
1. Defeat means only the beginning

Chapter 1: Defeat means only the beginning

The golden trio moved silently among the fighting forces, their target still unseen. Nagini was the last of the horocrux's they had yet to destroy and unfortunately the most opportune time to kill her had come only during the heavy battle taking place on Hogwarts grounds. Death Eaters and Auror's fought back and forth, bright spells met deadly ends. If it were not for how many magical beings were dying in this fight most people would have found the light show enthralling.

"Fuck!" yelled Ron as he ducked yet another stray curse. "It's like ol' voldi hadn't bothered to teach the DE's how to aim!" he whispered fiercely. Hermione frowned and told him to be quiet forgetting his cussing for the moment.

On their far left, Harry was crouched close to the ground, trying to block out all the noise from the battle on the field. With his training and magic enhancement, blocking out the sounds of fighting and yells of pain was fairly easy. Finally the sound he had been listening for caught his attention. A rushing sound, as if something soft was dragging along the forest floor. Harry stuck his hand out to catch the attention of Ron and Hermione. They become quiet instantly and followed as Harry silently moved towards the noise of the slithering. He paused and motioned them behind a large tree. From their position they could see the large black snake moving slowly along the foliage of the forest. Harry silently thanked whatever God exited out there that the moon was only partially full yet bright. They could easily see Nagini as the rays of silver light struck her black body, leaving a shining gray wave of light on her scales.

Hermione checked her backpack and pulled out a vial of basilisk blood. She shook it a bit in the moon light to gauge how much was left in the tiny glass container. "There is enough left to kill her, but we need to be precise. This is all we have." She told them silently. Harry nodded and Ron took on a determined face when he looked at him.

"Ready Ron?" Harry asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Ron replied, looking only a little uneasy. It was hard to truly see each other's expressions in the darkness, even with random lights from the spells being cast a few yards away. Harry nodded.

"You know what to do. I'll be right behind you." Then Harry moved away to circle around to Nagini's other side. He settled himself in some thick bushes and watched for Ron.

Ron tensed and began to concentrate. Before his magic could take control completely however, Hermione leaned forward and hugged him tightly.

"Don't get bit." She told him firmly, but her eyes shone with unshed tears. She would be strong for now and panic later. At least that was the thought she kept telling herself for the past few days. It had been tough especially when Ron kept having near brushes with random killing curses.

"We've been through too much for any of us to die now. Be careful Ron!"

Ron smiled ruefully and began to change. Ron's animagus form was not altogether surprising to his friends. Protective, loud, and fierce in a fight Ron had always been one for strategy and a type of leadership for the battle field, unlike Harry's leadership which focused on keeping peace rather than using force to gain his way. In place of Ron stood a magnificent golden lion with a bright red-brown mane. The lion shook its head a little, head butted Hermione in the stomach before silently stalking off behind Nagini.

When the snake lifted its head to the danger, it was already too late. The lion pounced, laying a back paw on the bottom half of the large snake while a front paw kept down the wiggling top half. Dodging a dangerous bite, the lion reared back, and stuck light lightning grabbing the snake three inches behind the head with its giant teeth. Harry shot out from the bushes then and grabbed Nagini's head, forcing her jaws to open. He popped the cork out of the vial with his mouth and poured it down her throat. Just as quickly, Harry rolled away.

Nagini twisted and churned on the ground beneath the crushing force of the lion. A few seconds later she began to spasm before falling limp, her red eyes now black in death. To be sure though, the lion stood still for a moment then shook the snake back and forth in its mouth. When no impending bite came to meet the rough treatment, it dropped the snake and rumpled a rough purr at Harry and Hermione, who had stepped out from behind the tree. Ron shifted back and smiled triumphantly before frowning and spitting on the ground.

"Oh gross!" he exclaimed. He continued to spit on the ground while Hermione giggled and Harry smiled. They were both thinking that the red head resembled an angry overgrown house cat trying to dislodge a hairball. When he was finished he glared at them. "You try having a nasty evil thing inside your mouth." He turned his attention to Harry. "Harrrreeeee!" He whined. "Not only did voldie not teach his army to aim, but I bet you they don't bathe either! Nagini tasted like a pair of your old socks!"

"And how would you know what my socks taste like Ron?" Harry said brightly.

"I don't, but if the smell is any determinant…" He grinned when Harry chuckled and Hermione sighed in exasperation. Boys would be boys, even at the most serious of times. A yell brought the trio back to the battle raging behind them. Quickly they ran to the edge of the forest. There they saw the remaining Aurors and some students surrounded in by a circle of Death Eaters, trying to defend themselves. Harry was desperately thinking of a way to help his friends when a chilling laugh erupted from the side of the field.

From the shadows of the Death Eaters walked Voldemort in all his snake-like glory. His red eyes pierced the group of survivors. He smiled evilly, sending chills down the backs of Aurors and Death Eaters alike. Stepping forward he spread his arms wide and looked around at the group.

"Where is your hero now?" He shouted out in glee. "He has left you to die. Just as Dumbledore has left you, leaving your family members to be murdered and your loved ones to die." He cackled gleefully. "You have nothing left." His red eye gleamed with insanity as they pierced the group of the light. The Aurors began to feel more than a little tired, fearing the battle already won. It had been months since the golden trio had left to follow Dumbledore's instructions. They might not even be back yet, much less alive.

"You are wrong Tom." Said a strong voice from the darkness of the forest. Harry and his friends had decided enough was enough. The mission was suicide, but now, with the last Horocrux's gone, they could finally rid the world of Tom Riddle. They stood strongly, Harry between the calm but aggressive Hermione and the defiant and protective Ron. All three faced Voldemort with varying expressions: Hermione with a determined face, but if one looked closely they might be able to see the tiny sparks of courage and fear raging in her brown eyes; Ron wore a mask of anger and had pulled his lips back in a snarl as he looked at the demon who had killed most of his family in cold blood; Harry's expression surprised most of the group though. He looked almost expressionless- Calm, cool, and collected. The only part of his pixie-like face that showed any spark was his eyes. The emerald orbs glowed eerily in the night as they gazed upon Voldemort. Voldemort scowled at them but couldn't help tensing at the almost cool look upon the smaller man's face. Harry tilted his chin up in triumph at Voldemorts temporary lapse in conversation.

"You are wrong Tom." He repeated softly this time, yet Harry's words traveled through the heavy silence that had ascended the battle grounds at their arrival. "I would never abandon those I love. I vowed to protect all that I could." Harry, though small in stature because of years of malnutrition, stood the strongest among the golden trio. "I have changed. I would rather not kill in order to gain that means of protection. But if I must, then by the Gods of the four winds, Tom, I will remove you from this lifetime." Harry was not altogether religious, but he figured if he had to answer to a higher power, he would address the four natural magic's that existed in the world as constant living entities.

Voldemort shook silently in rage as he began to notice that Harry's words were beginning to have an encouraging effect on the small group of light fighters left. He scowled at the Aurors who tensed in reaction but didn't back down or retreat. When he sensed that his demonic demeanor hadn't affected the group like it had moments earlier, Voldemort turned his roiling red eyes back on Harry.

Among the group of fighters, standing in stolen Auror robes in order to protect the school and friends they loved so dearly, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood watched with mixed emotions as Harry had spoken to Voldemort.

Luna noticed the physical changes first. Harry was still rather small for a seventeen year old male, and although slender, she could sense that he was nothing but muscle under the tight dueling robes he wore. He no longer wore his glasses, probably had Hermione find a spell to fix his eyes Luna noted, and without them his heart-shaped pixe face was more pronounced while his green eyes were allowed to finally magnify the external power he exuded in their glowing spheres. His messy black hair had grown a bit longer, and Luna supposed he had tied most of it back since there seemed to be a sweeping motion from the front of his face to the back of his neck. She couldn't tell how long it had grown while the three had been busy, but if Luna had to take an educated guess, she would had to say at least down to the middle of his shoulder blades. Luna smiled dreamily when she realized her Ravenclaw tendencies were being shoved around her rushing thoughts again. With little effort she pushed the thoughts aside and wondered if Harry knew about the powerful Snarkles that seemed to have grown around him and his friends while they were gone.

Neville on the other hand took in Harry's physical appearance quickly, instead finding himself drawn to the magical power that Harry exuded. It was as if the magic around them was attracted to him in such a way that the waves seemed to want to dominate the smaller man, but Harry's own innate magic pushed at the external magical forces unconsciously, forcing the magic to bow to his strong will. Neville wondered for a moment if Harry had learned to control the magic on purpose, or if his hard journey had unconsciously trained him into controlling the wild magic that swarmed around him. If Neville hadn't been able to sense the magic around Harry then he would have automatically known about it anyways once he had seen his friend's eyes. The emerald orbs exuded a power that reflected the intense training he had gone through in order to complete his task of finding and destroying all of Tom's Horocrux's. Neville looked at his friend's power and shook a little in anticipation. For some reason Neville understood that the next few moments were going to be the most eye catching and memorable moments in Hogwarts history.

Both Luna and Neville caught each other's eye and smiled. Harry had come. Harry had not given up. Harry was here to support and defend his home, friends, and loved ones. It had been a long and hard journey, fighting not only the Death Eaters but the Ministry as well, surviving and growing stronger in the deaths of the people close to them, and now they all faced the demon that had plagued the magical world for the past three decades.

Harry stared back at Voldemort defiantly. He was not going to lose. Not after the death of Sirius, Remus, and so many others. He was going to destroy Voldemort, but not in revenge. Not for the fact that the snake-like man before him had almost destroyed everything he loved, had taken away from him a life of love with his parents and godfathers. No, Harry had learned the lessons of love and support in the dangers his friends and he had faced while collecting the torn pieces of souls that Tom had hidden away. Harry was going to destroy Tom Riddle once and for all, and for all of the right reasons. He was going to kill in order to protect, even if it meant sacrificing himself. Harry had some fights with Ron and Hermione over his decision to go one on one with Tom, but in the end they had sighed and looked at him with sad eyes. They were with him to the very end, no matter what his decision. Like true Gryffindor lions, they would protect their pride and stand by their leader.

Voldemort narrowed his eyes at the Potter child in anger. What an annoyance he thought. The Potter brat probably believed he could defeat him. Voldemort gave Harry a devilish smile. The brat had no clue about his backup plan. A dangerous plan and one that might drain him of most of his remaining magic, but Voldemort was at the end of his sanity. His one obsessive thought was simple and clean cut: kill Harry Potter.

"You think you can defeat me boy?! I'll take you and your entire Order down, even if I have to waste all the magic surrounding the castle!" He hissed at Harry. Harry narrowed his eyes and frowned a bit, the only facial expression he had made during the entire fiasco.

Without a second thought Voldemort raised his wand and shot of a volley of spells at the trio. Ron and Hermione dodged aside, but Harry stood still, raising his wand quickly to perform a shielding spell. The innate magic in him created the translucent shield but the wild magic that bent to his sheer power and will, fortified it, making the original invisible _protego_ shielding spell an opaque color, like the inside of a white sea shell. It shimmered with rainbow waves each time a new spell was cast. Harry concentrated more of his power into the shield and managed to raise it from the ground so as when Voldemort began to circle around for an opening, Harry could easily circle with him, deftly keeping the shield between them. He was still looking for an opening and devising a plan.

Harry's eyes glowered at Voldemort as he dodged the killing curse. No matter how strong the shield, the killing curse could always shatter them. Voldemort cackled in glee, sending off a cutting curse. Harry was a bit slower in his reaction time and found himself with a small gash running from his calcaneous bone to mid-calf on his right leg. He hissed and clenched his teeth, but otherwise ignored the pain that the wound radiated.

"See Potter? Just as weak as ever. Just because you disappear for a few months for some 'training' doesn't mean you can defeat me. I've been fighting much longer that you have Harry," Harry winced at the sharp drawl Voldemort had adopted when saying his first name. "And my experience automatically makes me the better candidate for the winner." Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Voldemort had taken to gloating like Draco had take to hair gel back in first year. The resemblance between their mouths was almost enough to make him snicker, but the seriousness of the situation denied him the chance. Instead he was once again quickly dodging yet another killing curse.

The audience watching the two duelers avidly watched each and every move. Some of the Death Eaters were smirking and cajoling Harry and others were cheering on the Dark Lord. Ron had to forcibly hold back Hermione when Harry had been struck by the cutting curse. The urge to run and heal him had been so strong, that she actually had tears in her eyes. She felt so hopeless not being able to help her friend, but Harry had been right. By engaging in a one on one duel with Voldemort, the Dark Lords followers had been too intent on watching the battle, while the trapped Auror's were able to silently disappear from their position one by one, back into the dark forest for a clean get away.

Neville and Luna had been watching just as closely, watching with pride and growing joy as Harry deftly continued to dodge each of Voldemort's spells. Neville noticed the power that Harry exuded. When he was unable to dodge a spell completely the wild magic around him would rise up and deflect it in another direction. Each time this happened Harry's eyes flashed a brighter green for only a few seconds. Too short for Voldemort to ever truly see happen. Neville had never seen a Wizard such as Harry. Harry must have been a natural at controlling magic. The invisible lines of power weaved around the man in loving caresses, flexing outward to perform even the slightest task that Harry pushed it to do.

Luna on the other hand recognized Harry's strategy. She continued to eye the Snarkles and Chifacks that constantly hovered around the boy, giving him bursts of magic every now and then. Silently Luna was impressed. Both creatures were doing things outside of their natural tendencies. She continued her dreamy smile and waved at a passing Wetheby that had come to watch the Snarkles. Natural enemies at heart, Wetheby's and Snarkles shared no love at all…woops! Getting off track again, Luna thought to herself. She returned her gaze to the battle, silently adding her own natural magic for Harry to use.

When Harry noticed that the Death Eaters had broken to gather closer to the fight, he smiled. Their stupidity had allowed the remaining Auror's to leave unscathed. With a feral smile Harry glanced back at Tom and lifted his wand. "INCENDIO!" Voldemort dodged at the last second, a little surprised that Harry had fired off a spell at all, since the boy had only been dodging and blocking his spells from the beginning.

"That was not overtly helpful for your friends Mr. Potter." Voldemort gave his Death Eaters a look and command all in one. His followers jumped to attention and turned back to the group of light fighters…only to find that they were no longer where they had left them.

When Voldemort had realized what had happened he turned his full rage on Harry.

"POTTER!" He screamed in outrage and fury. He began casting Crucios and Avada Kedava's left and right. Now the Death Eaters were trying to avoid being cursed or killed as well. Harry rolled aside and behind a tree raising his wand as he did so.

"Accio Sword of Gryffindor!" A few seconds later the sharp sword sailed through the air near inches from Harry's face, and with quick seeker reflexes he grabbed the handle easily. The smooth round metal fitted easily to his hand. Shifting his wand to his left hand, he moved from behind the tree and blocked a curse with his sword. It was a nifty trick he had learned while practicing a mock duel with Ron one night. The sword repelled almost every spell except for the killing curse. Avada Kedava just seemed to break every shield spell or pass through certain objects. The few objects it could not pass through were gold, copper, rock, and thick trees. At least those were the only a few of the items they had tested on before the mission took them all by storm. Harry muttered another shielding spell and closed his eyes, he pushed a bit of the wild magic around him and into the ground.

Responding in kind to his call, the magic erupted from the ground with a large piece of granite stone. Protecting Harry from any killing curses, the stone did hinder his vision of where Voldemort might attack next within the next few seconds. With a bit of blind luck and a prayer to whatever God or Gods existed he used the wild magic wandlessly forcing the stone to shoot forward to where he suspected Voldemort would be. Voldemort quickly used a demolishing spell on the oncoming stone wall.

Harry smiled in triumph and followed right after the stone quickly, using Voldemort's insanity and confusion with the rushing stone as a pivoting point for the war. Death Eaters and Auror's watched alike in horror and fascination, almost in slow motion, as the famed sword of Gryffindor stabbed Voldemort through the chest, and slicing upwards. Voldemort turned wide, shocked eyes on Harry. Harry Stepped back, pulling the sword from Voldemort's chest.

"But…h-how?" Voldemort asked, blood beginning to run from the corner of his mouth.

Harry, panting and sweaty from dodging spells for the past hour and a half gave Voldemort a grim look.

"We were not just training Tom. We discovered and destroyed all of your horocrux's as well. Your soul has been collected and released." Harry took a step back and watched as Voldemort began to slump to the ground, blood rushing from the gash in his chest. "The other world awaits you Tom. I have done as I promised. I have protected those I loved, and with their love I have survived and lived. Your wickedness passes this day." Harry turned and began to walk back towards Hermione and Ron.

Behind him Voldemort placed one hand on the ground and coughed up more blood.

"N-not with…out y-you." He snarled and raised his wand. Hermione, who had been able to see both Voldemort and Harry screamed out for her friend. The bright green light left the end of Voldemort's wand just has he fell to the ground dead from blood loss. Harry was unable to dodge in time, too tired from the fight and the war in general. He managed to move a bit, but the curse caught him on his upper left arm. The green glow surrounded his body and sent it lifeless to the ground below. Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, the chosen one, the prophesy child, had fulfilled his destiny and in return lost his own life. Around the Auror's Death Eaters were screaming in pain as the connection to their lord began to cut off their lives or destroy their magic. But Hermione had only eyes for the body on the ground. Ron had no such reservations and rushed forward towards his friend, screaming at the top of his lungs. The bushy haired girl sank to her knees and cried silently, still trying to absorb the fact that Harry had just died.

The shock could only cover so much of her emotions and already there was a large hole being created in her heart. A hole that ached with the pang of loss. It was with this feeling that she finally collapsed on the forest floor in a faint.

Luna and Neville rushed forward after Ron. Alongside them ran another student and fighter, Cho Chang. Luna had watched Voldemort commit that one last bit of violence with horror-struck eyes. She had been the first to move, running before she even realized it. Neville stumbled after her, his own body weak with emptiness after watching Harry fall forward dead. Cho had been another issue altogether. She and Harry had determined that they were not meant for each other the year before, but they had still been close friends till the end. She could not believe that Harry, the most powerful wizard she had ever met other than Dumbledore, had fallen to a curse that he had managed to avoid all day.

Together, they knelt on the ground next to Ron as he rocked Harry's body back and forth. Pain filled eyes moved over their faces before bending back over Harry's prone body. The war had been won, but they had lost something so precious that it felt as if they had been the ones to face defeat.


	2. A New Hand Has Offered…

Chapter 2: A New Hand Has Offered…

It was black, but not dark. Harry didn't understand how that made any sense at all. But at the moment he really didn't care. In fact he was quite willing to just go on floating through this black space. At least he considered he was floating, since he wasn't falling, but he also lost all sense of vertigo when he entered this…world? He didn't know. Frowning, Harry tried to open his eyes. He began to panic a bit when the blackness just continued. There seemed to be no light at all. He had to blink hard a few times just to be sure his eyes were indeed open, and that he was staring at nothing but a black void on all sides. Harry slowly reached his left arm over to grasp his right hand. When he felt his own skin he almost jumped in surprise. He could still feel, but it was as if his body has gone numb. His tactile receptors were working fine and he pinched himself, relieved when he felt the small pinprick of pain, but he had trouble trying to feel if his individual fingers were all there unless he concentrated on closing his hand into a fist. It didn't help that he couldn't see within an inch of his face, something he figured out when he poked himself in the eye five minutes later, trying to figure out if his whole body was still there.

"Ow! Bloody hell." He grumbled. Breathing in deeply, he found no barrier to oxygen in the deep black abyss. Considering himself out of danger for the moment, Harry began to contemplate his dilemma. He tried concentrating on what happened before he showed up in this gigantic black soup bowl. Every time he tried though, his mind went fuzzy. After a few more minutes of failing at this, Harry decided to go even farther back, hoping to find a situation that would help him figure out his current predicament. His eyes flew open in shock and he started breathing harshly. He couldn't remember. He couldn't remember many things. Quickly he reviewed what he did know. His name was Harry; at least he thought it was. He felt like a Harry anyways, so the best bet there was to consider his name as such. He was a…a what? What did he do? He couldn't figure it out. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand and let out a muffled scream. Where was his family? Did he have family? Where did he live? Or did he travel? How old was he? Was he dead?

That last question stopped his mind altogether. I'm dead. He didn't know how he knew, only that aside from the fact that he considered himself 'Harry', he was also undeniably, unmistakably dead. He let his hands fall from his face slowly to rest at his sides, while he reviewed his thought process. I'm dead. Those two words continued to plague him for…well however long he had started thinking about it. Did this place even have time? I'm dead.

A chuckle erupted from somewhere…to his left? At this point Harry was about to give up on figuring out this dead…place.

"Place? Think again child." Said a melodious voice. "This 'place' is the realm of shadows. How odd though." After the female had spoken this, and yes Harry was quite sure it was a woman now, a glow began to form in front of him. Harry squinted away from the sudden light before facing the woman's silhouette. "Usually it is only demons that are sent here, to be absorbed by the Ikazuchi no Kami. How you came to be wandering in such a world is certainly a surprise, but if Ika Kami left you to be then you must be special."

"Who are you?" He snapped, feeling angry at how much the woman knew and how little he did. It was infuriating not understanding who he was or what she was or where they BOTH were. The amount of anger Harry felt did not surprise him so he assumed it was natural for him. For a moment he wondered if he was constantly bitter, but the thought left his mind when the woman giggled and extended her hand.

"Come child. You will learn everything in due time. But for now the Ikazuchi wish you gone from their home. They tell me that they have not allowed fresh demon souls in so that you would be less frightened when you awoke. But now they voice their need to feed once more."

Harry considered the offered hand for a moment before hesitantly reaching out to grasp her fingers. The first graze of his flesh on hers sent shivers of excitement down his entire body with a great feeling of peace following soon after. He could suddenly feel his body again, and vertigo returned with a blast, allowing him to recognize the he was a bit tilted to the left, even though his feet was touching no physical ground. He righted himself and clasped her hand tighter, wanting to keep that feeling of content and peace. He whimpered and felt his muscles loosen considerably from their tensed state, allowing himself to be pulled into the arms of the woman. In a bright flash they faded from the shadow realm, only just missing the many twisted demonic souls that came flowing into the underworld, trying to escape the blackness that eagerly absorbed their power and hate.

* * *

Back at Hogwarts, witches and wizards began to make their way onto the grounds. Some had hidden away at the beginning of the battle; others had been fighting some ways off on the other side of the field, while others had been in the hospital wing, recovering from various magical ailments and wounds they had obtained in battle.

They all came, some staggering, others hunched over, and only a few managing to walk normally, having received fewer wounds. Most wore tattered battle robes and were covered in black and blue bruises. They came to the edge of the field and waited with baited breath for someone to tell them why everything had gone quiet. From the edge of the forest a young Auror who had fought with Neville and Luna, stepped forward and turned over the body of a dead Death Eater. He ran diagnostic checks before conjuring a black tarp to cover the body. He repeated the process with another body before turning back to the eyes on him. He blushed and then scowled.

"What tha fuck are ya doin'? Check for survivors and move tha dead to the Northern end o' tha field." He scowled when a few of the onlookers began moving towards Harry's friends. "_Away_ from Harry Potter." He snarled at them in warning. The group of witches and wizard flushed but backed away from the group. One middle-aged wizard seemed opposed to this though.

"We deserve to see the child! He stopped You-Know-Who! He saved the Wizarding World from total destruction! He deserves our praise." The man said loudly, as if the intensity of his voice could overcome his fear of the snarling Auror, and began moving towards the group in the middle of the dead bodies, a few brave and curious wizards and witches soon following. Before the young Auror could stop them, Neville turned towards the advancing people. His face was drawn in grief and anger. He raised his wand at them and scowled, narrowing his eyes and giving them a look of hatred.

"Back. Off." He growled lowly, his hand shaking with the tension of grasping his wand tightly. The oncoming group froze and stared at Neville in fear. Growling again, Neville tensed, a spell ready on his lips, when a pale hand covered his own and gently lowered his. He looked over and found luminous blue orbs staring back at him. Relaxing slightly, Neville allowed the anger to roll away from him, only to be replaced with the raging guilt and grief of losing Harry. Luna reached up and brushed the tip of her fingers against his cheek.

"Harry needs you." She whispered before turning her attention on the growing crowd. Neville gave her a puzzled look and turned back to Harry's body, but not before shooting the growing group of wizards and witches a look of disgust. Luna smiled pleasantly at them, her dreamy, lost look put the crowd on edge. At first they had thought that the young boy with the body of Harry Potter was going to curse them within an inch of their lives, but then the pale blonde young woman had turned his attention back to the small group of friends huddled over the body of their savior. The feeling of relief had disappeared just as fast as it had appeared when Luna had turned her full attention on them. At least with Neville they could expect harsh violence, and would be able to respond in kind. Luna however was known to be almost borderline Slytherin. A Ravenclaw by definition, the bright young women would easily tell you of some imaginary magical creature while hexing you without a second thought. Only her closest friends knew how much she disliked harming other creatures, even if they were criminal Death Eaters. Her mask of indifference and her relaxed smile did put a few of the younger wizards on edge, mainly because they heard stories about the honorary Gryffindor that would make them wonder for years if any of the gore-filled stories were true. The older wizards, and those who didn't care much, continued to shuffle their way forward slowly.

Luna's dreamy smile was replaced with a vicious grin, and her clouded eyes sharpened into blue-gray storm clouds. She lifted her wand and silently waved a few invisible runes in the air. When nothing immediately happened, one courageous (or insanely stupid) wizard took a large step forward, and was propelled back violently when a flash of lightening flew from the sky and struck the spot where his foot had landed. The advancing wizards stopped and fled back a few yards, while the recovering wizard looked at Luna with a pale face and shocked eyes.

"W-what in Merlin's name was that?!" he shouted at the girl. Luna shrugged, her dreamy and distant look back in place.

"A natural lightning defense. If you notice there are no clouds in the skies. The lightning collects as a magical burst that shifts the protons and electrons within the air at an exact point of temperature. The burst is released when a magical being or creature steps on the trigger points of temperature on the ground, by collecting any extra magic surrounding the person, and then BOOM!" She shouted the last word, startling many of the group members into jump back. "The magic of the invading force is sent zipping into the air to burst the electrically charged magic resting in the air. This is especially helpful, because the magical bolt can only trace the triggers line of trajectory, sending it straight back to the magical being." Luna sighed happily. "There is almost no way to avoid being hit or propelled backwards by this type of protection. It is a great defense and offense mechanism." She giggled. "I learned it from the Snarkles by the way."

Herminone, who had awoken at the point when Luna was explaining the Bolt Sheild, began hurrying towards her friends. Luna ignored her and the brown haired girl breached the protection site without getting hit by a single bolt of lightening. Seeing the awed and questioning looks on the wizards in front of her, Luna's smile widened.

"Hermione, myself, and those who were close to Harry learned to control our magical outlets. Unlike yourselves who have very little control over your magic because you are continuing to use an outlet that allows a bit of magical debris to float around your bodies, we can curtail our magic by either absorbing it completely or making it dissipate into the natural magic of the Earth. By doing so the trigger never has a chance to find a magical outlet to concentrate on. Therefore the charged magical bursts stay in the air until a more appropriate subject comes to pass." She ended her mini-lecture with a smirk.

Within the tiny niche of friends, Cho Chang desperately tried to find any part of Harry that was still living. She knelt down by his body and sifted her hands about two inches from his chest. Ron held the body gently, but gave Cho a suspicious look anyways.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I am looking for any magical charges that might not have left. Contrary to belief, the killing curse cannot totally kill if the casters themselves are dead. The soul has no place to go if the dead casters wand is out of commission." She replied.

Hermione, who had been listening through her tears, lifted her head at Cho's words, her eyes sparking with the whirling thoughts in her head. She gasped as the implication struck, but Ron was still confused. She began to complete Cho's explanation.

"It means that since Voldemort is dead, his wand is no longer useful. Without the magic of the user, the wand becomes fairly useless. The cores might be salvaged for other purposes, such as potions, but the magically signature created by the core and wood of the wands are only compatible with the original wizard or witch. Oh Ron don't you see! Harry might have a chance!" Hermione started crying again, this time in hope. She too placed her hands above Harry's head and began looking for any magical charges that might have stuck to his body, proclaiming him as magically alive while physiologically dead. Ron watched them both, still lost in the explanation. He opened his mouth, but as if anticipating the question, Luna turned around and began speaking.

"They mean that since Voldemort's wand became useless between the few seconds of his death and Harry's death, then Harry's soul could not have been collected by the wand. In fact, the other souls collected by Voldemort's wand were released at the time of his death. But we are more magical than spiritual, so we would have been unable to see them." At this she gave Cho's back a look. "Unless of course, you have an internal spiritual family." Cho stiffened and lifted her eyes to the pale blondes. Her mouth went slack in wonder before she stood abruptly and began to conjure slips of parchment, ink, and a large calligraphy brush.

With Luna's explanation, Ron finally realized that Harry might have a chance. His mouth was open in an O of understanding and Luna gave him her tiny smirk. "That's right Ron. Right now Harry can be given mouth to mouth resuscitation and be brought back to life, since technically his soul magic was never contained."

Ron stared at Luna with wide eyes. "Bloody Hell Luna. You're bloody devious when your Ravenclaw self kicks in." Luna only giggled but didn't bother replying as Hermione squealed in happiness when her hands began to glow brightly over Harry's throat.

"There's only a little bit left, but it might be enough to sustain him. I don't know if I can do it alone. I don't have enough power. In fact there is so little there that it would be impossible even between all five of us to bring him back." More silent tears tracked down her cheeks, as her face became drawn in concentration. Neville quickly kneeled by her side and set his hands near her, also trying to stabilize and give some power boosts to the dying body. Ron joined them shortly, his lips thinned in a grim line as he watched his friends face for any sense of life. To their right, Cho had finished writing odd symbols on the thin strips of paper, before standing quickly and moving to place one at Harry's head, both palms, the front of his feet, one over his heart, and the last on his stomach. The three were fairly confused but couldn't lose concentration of their magical transference.

"Don't worry Hermione. I'll get the power. Just do what you can. I haven't done this before, even though I have been taught." Cho said seriously. "Just hold out as long as you can and pray to the Gods that this will work." Cho took a deep breath and gracefully sat cross-legged a few inches from Harry's feet. "Please grandmother, don't let the old teachings fail me now." She mumbled before taking a deep breath, clearing her mind, and began chanting in an odd language unfamiliar to the others. Hermione, through her magical efforts, thought it might have been some type of old Chinese or Japanese dialect, but couldn't be sure.

* * *

The black haired, green eyed boy and the mysterious woman appeared in flash of white someplace bright and green. Very green. Not just one green. But many different colors of green. Harry stared at the field before him. It was like seeing paradise for the first time. He slowly looked around, noticing the many different kinds of wild flowers littering the grassy area and the forest trees that seemed to give off some odd glow.

"The border trees. They both eat and release magic. I believe it is similar to what Earthen trees do with oxygen?" The mysterious woman spoke up, hearing the boys' thoughts. Harry turned to see her face, and almost drew back in fear when there was none. It was almost like a pure white mask. The woman was dressed in some sort of brightly colored traditional robes, and had long flowing midnight black hair, parts of which were done up in some sort three bun and braid design. Slender fingers reached out and gently trailed down the side of his face. That same feeling of totally peace and security surrounded him and Harry relaxed, thinking her to be oddly beautiful, even if she was missing a face. The woman chuckled.

"Your mind speaks loudly. I always found it interesting how mortals believed themselves completely free if they could only keep their thoughts to themselves. Unfortunately, here within the planes of my Heavens your thoughts are not hidden from me." She gently turned away and began gliding in a certain direction, beckoning silently for Harry to follow. "To explain your circumstance, I shall try to be brief." She began. Harry tuned in quickly, giving the woman his undivided attention, still unsure whether to trust her or not.

"You do not have to trust me young one, it is not required. Let's see. Oh yes. You cannot remember much about yourself except your name and the fact that you are dead because the plains of my Heavens tend to erase or at least dull all of a blessed person's more negative memories so that they may focus all of their positive energy on the job given to them by their ancestors before and in death. However, your case is special. You are not under mine or any other Amatsu Kami's protection. So you lost all of your memories, except for those that the realms could not erase: your identity and your ability to reason."

Harry thought about this for a few minutes as they continued to walk in silence. Finally he looked and spoke. "So I am truly dead then? Are you leading me to the after-life?"

The woman laughed outright. "Oh no child. I said that your case was special did I not?" She paused and turned to look over her shoulder at a creature many yards away from the two. "He is impatient." Harry started at the crisp annoyance in her voice. She had been so calm and peaceful until that moment. He could almost feel the prickles of power that spun around the woman. Suddenly everything went still and the peaceful feeling returned once more. Harry took a chance and glanced back at what had caught the woman's ire, and was surprised to see a fox with three tails sitting still about thirty yards behind them. The being beside him sighed and continued walked forwards. Harry began to follow, taking note that the fox had started after them as well.

"You are special because a descendant of one of my more prominent neighbors has called upon the help of the family's heavenly power. Inari, simple God-being of rice and agriculture, has taken a liking to this descendants' particular family. And though technically you are not under our law or protection, the God-being has offered for your soul, and because natural magic has no use for a lifeless body, it has considered the proposition. Apparently Harry, you are well-liked in your world." Harry understood only a bit of what the woman was saying, but because of his lack of memory, he had trouble figuring out why some things were playing out as they were."

"You mean that I have become the interest of a family God?" he asked hesitantly. A feeling of pleasure and admiration went through him. The woman's face turned towards him, and Harry was sure that if she had had lips, he could see them smiling.

"Yes. You catch on well for one who has little to no memory." She reached out and brushed his hair back from his forehead. "And offering from another God is hard to come by, but Inari believes you might be of some use to him as a Guardian and Messenger." Harry leaned into her touch, allowing her waves of peace to shine down on him. He still had questions he wanted answered though.

"This Inari then. He was approached by someone I assume I should know." Harry started and when he felt a pleasant feeling from her he continued his theory. "And this someone wants something to do with me. But by calling on Inari, they also made his attention focus more on me than what is normal for most Gods of your realms?" He ended with a question.

"Correct. Inari's descendent has asked for your soul back. But to come to terms with the magic and the terms of letting a dying soul return to the world and perhaps upsetting the delicate balance that is supposed to exist there, something else must be given in exchange. The Gods rarely give mortals something for free. If it seems like they do, it is only to find some form of entertainment when the mortal finally caves into the madness of the so called 'gift'. This is why there are always two separate forces and only a few neutral forces in my Heavens." She stopped petting his hair and stepped back to watch the golden three tailed fox lope up to them. It gave a short welcome yip and then some odd high pitched purr before allowing the woman to reach out and pet its head. "This is one of Inari's Messengers. At the moment he only has six true Guardians. His offer for you is to become a Guardian to his descendents family, until he requires your assistance at his side." She turned her blank face towards Harry and waited for his answer.

The young adult thought carefully, but it was difficult without his memories. He considered the fact that the offer allowed him to go back to his home. But he was not sure if the place where he lived was really what he wanted to return to. Without memories he could not discern which option had more merit for both him and whoever was pleading for his soul. Without warning the golden fox nipped at the back of his hand and Harry reached out to caress its head-fur. Suddenly a rush of protective feelings and the urge to help people overwhelmed him. It made him feel good, useful, and, for some odd reason, loved. Harry stared at the fox in wonder, once again listening as the woman spoke.

"The Messengers and Guardians of Inari have all had different lives and bear distinct differences in personalities, but if there is one thing they all share, it is the need to protect and serve those they love. It gives them a sense of peace and fulfills their desire to not be forgotten or left behind."

Harry bent down and stared into the warm honey-brown eyes of the fox, his own eyes glistening with tears from the abundant emotions running through him. Yes, the unconditional and unending peace and comfort that the strong woman offered was tempting, but he knew without a doubt that the protective and warm feelings coursing through him were not just that of the foxes, but also his own. His soul cried out for another's, and his heart beat strongly, full of life for the people he left behind to fend for each other alone. Standing slowly he turned to the woman his eyes full of determination. Without having to know it, he could feel her smile.

The golden fox pulled back and yipped in excitement. One of its tails came forward releasing a scroll into the woman's hand. She took it calmly and opened it, reviewing its contents before giving a short nod in satisfaction.

"This scroll lists the terms of agreement. In offering you your third chance at life," Harry looked confused there for a moment. Third time? He had already died more than once? "you, Harry James Potter, will be granted the chance to return and spend a maximum of half a century on Earth before accepting your full responsibility as an Inari Kitsune. When that time come you are required to take on the corporal form of the Guardian fox before your duties should be given to you." The woman paused for a moment before giving a tinkling laugh full of amusement. "Oh Harry. My apologies, but Inari is sometimes one for pranks. He somehow wove into the agreement a certain attribute you must carry while living your remaining years on Earth." The fox growled in amusement as well, and Harry began to think that the idea of returning to life on the offer of a prankster God probably wasn't the best decision he had made. Of course he would rethink that once he got his memories back, but for now it seemed to be a very bad idea.

"Very well Harry. Do you accept the terms?" She asked.

"I do." He said, only a little hesitant. She gave off the sense of smiling at him.

"You will remember this entire conversation, because I feel no ill will from it. But the only ones able to see it if you placed it in pensive (she ignored his silent question of what a pensive was) are the five closest friends you currently have trying to bring your soul back. And to answer one of your earlier questions, yes, I do have a face. But in the view of mortals it must be hidden." Harry only continued to look confused. "Ask your Calling friend." Was the only answer she gave. "I also warn that once they have seen the memory, I will take it back so that it cannot be seen a second time. They well still have access to it in their own minds, but will be unable to speak on it or share it with others not within the group. Consider it a precaution."

She reached outward and dragged a necklace from around her neck. It was a simple black strong with an iron circlet at the bottom centered by a glowing green stone. "Take this stone and return back to your world child. Consider it a parting gift until we see each other next time."

Harry stopped from reaching for the necklace at the last second. He looked up at the smooth white no-face for a moment. "What is your name?" Again Harry felt her smile rather than saw it on her blank face.

"They call me Amaterasu." With that she thrust the necklace into Harrys outstretched hand, and watched as the soul disappeared in a flash of light. She turned to the golden fox and allowed her face to show once more. She smiled softly at the creature.

"Tell Inari that I am watching his youngling. Although I feel nothing ill to come from this at the moment, I sense that Izanagi has become restless in the continued balance. Change is on the winds my friend." With that, the Goddess of the sun turned and faded from the plains by misting away. The golden fox stared at her retreat before turning around and leaping into the air, becoming one with the wind, flying swiftly back to its friend and master.


	3. Years Too Long

Chapter 3: Years Too Long

Harry felt as if he had been moving in slow motion. The moment the necklace connected with his fingers he had been thrust into what he thought resembled a 'worm hole' thing that a sci fi show, Dudley had been watching, talked about. Except instead of being surrounded by black swirling colors and wind, there was nothing but pure white and golden strands surrounding him, and it seemed oddly peaceful. Suddenly the golden strands moved towards him, surrounding his body in a soft, glowing, golden cocoon. That's when his memories began to trickle back in.

It started with his life a Privet Drive, in his early childhood, facing the abuse and neglect from his only living blood relatives and uncle. Harry closed his eyes and flinched, whimpering from the painful memories, when a few of the gossamer twines reached out to brush against his cheeks and eyes. Harry slowly relaxed and began to look at the memory from a third point of view. No longer was he a helpless child, malnourished and afraid of his relatives. He was stronger, emotionally and physically. He felt calm about that, and instead of feeling hatred and loathing to those people, he felt sad. He pitied them because he knew, without a doubt, that for each of the wrongs they committed on Earth in life, each would be paid back tenfold in the afterlife. How he knew this, Harry didn't bother to fathom or figure it out. He just knew.

Next came his years at Hogwarts, a more happy time of finding and making new friendships, gathering loyal people to his side, and going on many dangerous adventures. The Sorcerer's Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, Remus Lupin and his Godfather, Siruis Black. Harry overflowed with happiness, the feeling of family growing with each and every new memory he received in his early years of Hogwarts. The golden strands thrummed gladly in the boys presence as his emotions traveled along their lengths.

Then came the deaths. First was Cedric. Harry's brow furrowed in confusion at the abrupt change in memories. His mood grew darker with each and every death. Second was Sirius. Harry's eyes opened in a gasp and he curled in on himself, feeling his heart breaking in so many places. The memories came as bright flashes before fading, but each left a deep scar on his mind. Third was Remus, killed during a full moon, ripped apart by Fenrir. Kingsley Shacklebolt, Arthur Weasley, Fred Weasley, Albus Dumbledore, and even Severus Snape. Each left the whole in his heart growing ever steadily, the semi-contentedness disappeared in a flash, only to be replaced with feelings of hate and anger towards the Death Eaters and Voldemort. Harry had almost lost himself in the anger, when the golden shield around him flared and another memory thrust foreword: Hermione and Ron crying together over his medical bed in Hogwarts. He had gone to find Slytherin's locket on his own, and had come close to dying. The blood loss and severe pain brought about by the many traps and spells set by Voldemort almost did him in. He had gained a variety of new scars from the experience, and none would fade or disappear with magic or potions.

Not for the first time did Harry feel remorse or guilt for something he had done that hurt his friends. But it had been the first time he had sat back in his mind, pushed his emotions away, like Snape had taught him, and viewed the scene from a neutral perspective. He had been so clouded with anger, he hadn't seen the pain he had been causing his friends. The yelling, screaming, the almost-apologies, and closing them off from his thoughts and plans had left a strain in their close relationship.

Laying there in that bed, broken and battered, Harry James Potter swore to find another way to defeat Voldemort. One that did little to harm those around him, one that would help him find a way to peace and did not feed of his anger or hatred. After three days of extensive talking, counseling, and crying, the Golden Trio was back and their bonds were stronger than ever. That was when the training began. Within the golden cocoon, Harry relived each and every trial: the hard learned meditations, the extremities of wandless magic that left Hermione, Ron, and him magically drained and tired, the bruises accumulated from not just spells or punches of enemies, but from training with Ron in hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting. Over the year that they had been gone training and searching for the horocrux's, Harry and his friends had grown magically and physically stronger. With the advantage of learning natural magic from Hermione, the ever reading bookworm goddess that she was, Harry had told his friends about his plan to destroy Voldemort with the Sword of Gyffindor, since his wand would not work against its brother. Both agreed with only some trepidation, and thus they began their course of action.

Involving the school had been a risk, but contrary to some instances in the past, the castle was the best place to stage the fight. Their strategic mastermind, Ron had said that the forests surrounding the forest could be used to their advantage. The trio went around setting up physical traps rather than magical, relying on the fact that Voldemort and the Death Eaters would not suspect muggle traps. They had been right. Voldemort started out with a legion of Death Eaters, but only about three hundred made it through the forest alive. Then started their first line of defense: Using earth magic the trio had set a moat around the castle. If one could see it, they would assume nothing but water, but Hermione, bless her magnificent mind, had concocted a strong muggle acid to be contained within the water. To finish the trap, Harry used a strong illusion to hide it from oncoming Death Eaters. After seeing so many muggle traps, the Death Eaters were wary enough to check for wires and strings, and in doing so loss track of checking for magically contraptions. Over one hundred Death Eaters fell into the acidic moat, their screams echoed around the fields and forest. When Harry removed the illusion, the Death Eaters who had moved back from the moat gagged and turned away from the scene. Black robes burned in the acid, random body parts floated around still being dissolved, and the once clear acid had been painted red from blood. The gruesome sight scared many of the Death Eaters, and Harry remembered Ron snickering when Voldemort himself had to come to the front lines in order to banish the acidic moat. Now the two forces of light and dark were equal in size, and each charged the other, fighting and casting viciously. Silently, the Golden Trio snuck away to find the last horocrux. They knew Tom was too paranoid to leave Nagini behind in case something happened and he needed another piece of his soul to survive.

Harry quickly went through his battle with Tom, and was surprised to realize that he had felt no hatred or anger while battling him. In fact, Harry remembers distinctly the rush of adrenaline through his veins as his mind rushed to consider fighting techniques, spells, and plans of killing. It was as if he treated Tom like another Death Eater, and nothing more. It was odd. Voldemort had always been top priority, and here was Harry in his own memory, treating his major enemy like a regular soldier. When Harry finally thrust the sword into Tom's body and slashed upward to his right clavicle he finally recognized that that was when the first emotions rolled up. First it was shock, to see not a Death Eater before him, but the snake-like face of Voldemort. Next it was a rush of pain and sorrow. In the golden cocoon, Harry reviewed those two emotions and concluded that the pain was of killing. He had always felt an odd sense of loss with each life he took. The sorrow was from the thoughts of how many times this man had killed those he had loved. He had been able to keep so many from dying before Voldemort finally fell by his sword, but the sorrow throbbed all the same, even as the killer began dying before his very eyes. And last was a sense of emptiness. He had fulfilled his destiny and killed the Dark Lord. He had saved the wizarding world. Where would he go now? With a spasm of shock, Harry realized that as he had been walking away from a dying Voldemort, he was hoping that someone would kill him as well in that moment. He did die, again at the hands of Voldemort. The regret and sorrow he felt at that moment while floating in the cradle of golden threads, caused the twines to reach out and caress his face again, soothing him.

In a rush of feeling, Harry remembered his promise to not die. He remembered the many happy memories that Ron and Hermione and he had shared. It was a reason to live, to survive for that happiness, to watch over his fictive kin for as long as he could. The love and protective feelings running through him lifted his spirit, and Harry opened his eyes to smile at the Golden threads trailing along his face.

"Thank you." He said softly.

_"You understand. Live well little Kitsune."_

With that everything went white and Harry found himself blinking awake on the ground, his upper body held by Ron, while his friends sat gathered around him looking over him in relief and shock. Harry smiled slowly and blinked large emerald eye at them.

"Hello."

Hermione was the first to recover. She reached a hand out and grabbed Harry's. When he squeezed back, she let out a keening cry before lunging at him, knocking her head against Ron's chin the process of wrapping her arms around his neck to hug him tightly.

"BLOODY HELL!" Shouted Ron, rubbing his aching jaw with one hand and staring at Harry, while his other hand continued to support his upper body.

"H-H-Harry James P-Potter! D-Don't you ever, EVER, scare us l-like that EVER AGAIN!" Hermione stuttered through her tears, screaming the last part loud enough to blast his eardrums in. Harry Smiled and awkwardly patted her back with his free hand.

"I'm sorry 'Mione. I promise not to get almost-killed by anyone ever again." Harry said, trying to be serious. Ron snorted.

"I thought you were going to stop asking the impossible from him 'Mione?" Ron grinned when the bushy haired girl sat up and smacked him on the arm.

"Hush you! I'm still reprimanding Harry for being a big prat!" she replied, her eyes shining from tears, but dancing with mirth.

"Oh come now, Hermione. It's not like he gets almost-killed every day." Neville said from her left. Harry looked at him and cocked an eyebrow, smirking at him. "It's only every other day!" Neville finished with a wide smile.

"Oi!" Harry exclaimed when Hermione hit him on the chest. "That bloody well hurt! Why didn't you hit Neville? He's the one that said it!" Hermione tutted at him.

"That did not hurt, and why would I hit Neville for saying the truth?"

Harry began laughing, but the sound trailed off when a rush of fatigue and exhaustion began to settle on him.

"Hey 'Mione, I promise I am not going to die, but I really need to sleep." Hermione smiled and patted his cheek.

"Of course Harry." Harry looked around at all five of them.

"Thanks guys." He muttered before closing his eyes and giving into some well needed sleep, only after he had heard Ron's confused comment.

"Why does he have cat ears?"

* * *

Harry woke to the familiar ceiling of the Hogwarts infirmary, but instead of feeling pain or tired, he felt blessedly relaxed and at ease. That didn't stop him from commenting though.

"I've seen that same stone formation over my head so many times in the past that I've memorized each and every crack along its surface." He spoke to know one in particular, amused by the turn of events.

"Well, Mr. Potter, if you and your friends would consider allowing me to tie you all down to chairs and surround you with shielding charms and wards up the wazoo, then I don't think you would have seen it as often, now would you?" Said the soft yet firm voice of Madam Pomfrey.

Harry chuckled. "Madam, I wish to inform you that we do not go seeking the trouble, the trouble quite eagerly seeks us." He smiled at her as she huffed and shook her head in exasperation.

"He's right you know. Harry is trouble magnet. Always pulling us along for fun. Never get a break. Oh the horror! THE HORROR!" Whined Ron from across the room, where he and Hermione had been sitting on a comfortable conjured red couch.

"Ron, when did you read _Heart of Darkness_?" Hermione asked sleepily, just waking up from a short nap. Ron gave her a wide eyed look.

"Me? Read? Where'd you get that idea? I heard it from Seamus who said he saw some weird jungle movie on tella-bisin?" Ron ended the last word as a question and Hermione just rolled her eyes, told Ron it was _television_, and walked over to Harry.

"How do you feel?" She asked him, looking worried. Harry smiled at her reassuringly.

"I feel fine Hermione. Really, just peachy!"

Madam Pomfrey walked back in at that moment and did a quick scan of his body with her wand. "Well if you feel fine, then I suppose there really is nothing wrong with…it." She hesitated before the last word. Harry frowned as both women continued to look at him with something akin to fascination. Harry tried looking at Ron for answers, but the Red head was studiously studying the now interesting patterns on the Infirmary door. Harry's frown deepened.

"What's wrong?" Hermione jumped at the bite in his voice, but Madam Pomfrey was the one to speak next.

"Mr. Potter, I want you to tell me everything you feel right now. Everything having to do with your body. Your sense of smell, range of hearing, your back, your sight. Everything, do you understand Mr. Potter?"

Harry closed his eyes and sighed, then began to humor the woman. "I can breathe and smell fine, oh wait. I think I can smell a bit better than before." And I need a bath, Harry added as an afterthought. He shrugged though and continued. "I can hear fine, nothing is blocking out the noise of the people in the great hall. I can see fine as well. Um, my upper body feels fine, as do my arms, and my legs and tail feel fine, though I think I should lay on my side for a while. My tail feels a bit fl…" Harry stopped. He slowly sat up and stared at his new appendage. A fluffy black fox tail lay next to his right leg, the tail beginning to flutter faster as his mind went blank in horror.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Mr. Potter! Language!"

"I could care less about that right now Pomfrey! Please tell me why I have a tail of all things!" Hermione bit her lip and reached forward to scratch behind his left ear. "Hermione why are you- oh. Oh, please don't stop." He began to purr, his eye lids dropping in pleasure. Hermione took her hand away after a few seconds and stepped back while Harry came out of his stupor. His eyes widened as his hands reached up to gently touch the large fox ears on his head. He whimpered in fear and looked around the room.

"Accio Mirror!" He said strongly, and was rewarded when a hand mirror went flying into his open hand so he could study his face and ears. They were large and black, just like his tail, but with gray tips. Harry reached up and stroked one, feeling the soft fur and examining the strong cartilage that made up the ears. He turned his head, but could find no evidence of human ears where they should have been. He slowly lowered his hand and mirror to his lap and stared straight ahead, trying to think through his panic. _Okay. I have ears. And a tail. It's not the end of the world. Not the end of the world. Not the end of the world. WHY DO I HAVE A FOX TAIL AND EARS!_

Harry paused in his breathing for a moment and widened his eyes as he received an epiphany. He groaned and placed his face in his hands. _Oh that bastard. That Bastard! When I see him I am so going to gut him. Can you even gut a god? Do gods even bleed?_ Harry thought her heard laughter in the back of his mind, and growled. Damn. That was great. Slowly he closed his eyes and began to meditate. _Okay. Let's look at the positive things here. I can hear and smell a great deal better than before, I probably have great reflexes than I did before, and I the furs soft. Wait! Waait! There will be NO thinking of soft fur… oh that's just creepy._

Hermione worried her lower lip and stepped forward slightly. "Um. Harry? Are you alright?"

Slowly Harry lifted his head and sighed. "Yeah Hermione. I'm fine. I just… I can't really explain this. But I can assure you it's normal." Harry paused. "Okay it's not normal, but not normal is pretty much normal for me. Right?" Ron chuckled softly.

"Right mate." Harry smiled at him.

"Always there to back me up, eh Ronnikins?" Ro rolled his eyes; only a flash a pain in their depths belied the truth of pain from losing Fred. Harry sighed, suddenly world weary again. "Look, I can explain this better if you can find a Pensive Hermione. Ron? Could you find Neville, Luna, and Cho as well? They have a right to know, since they helped in the calling."

Confused and wanting answers, his friends told him they would be back soon with what he requested. Harry sighed again and looked at Madam Pomfrey who had been standing silently by his bed, just watching him interact with his friends.

"If it is any consolation Mr. Potter, they do look rather nice on you." Harry flushed and groaned again.

"At least you didn't say cute." He muttered, then blanched when Madam Pomfrey blushed and looked away. "You didn't have too. You were thinking it!" He scoffed, but smiled at her to let her know that he was teasing her. Really the ears didn't both him so much. They just gave him heightened senses. But a tail? What were the gods thinking? As if the fluffy appendage knew it was being talked about, it began thumping against the bed in a rhythm stating annoyance. Harry watched it for a moment and concentrated on that feeling of moving the extra bones that had grown from his lower spinal cord. He wondered briefly if the nerves were extra sensitive in certain areas of his tail. To test the theory he reached over and poked the middle of his tail, where it was thickest, and ended up jumping a bit in surprise at the jolt that went up his back side. Yep. Extra sensitive. Great. Without realizing it, Harry began using his hand to smooth down the black fur on his tail, unconsciously grooming himself while he thought about the future.

A few minutes later Hermione walked in with a Pensive filled with silver liquid. She placed it on the bedside table and began to talk. "I got it from Dumbledore's room. It was the only one I could remember you telling me about. She brushed off hands off on her jeans (they had stopped wearing wizarding robes long ago. It only slowed them down during their hunts and fights. All three of them were used to wearing the battle amour robes, but otherwise stayed clear of the heavy wizard robes) and sat down on the edge of the bed. Glancing at his tail, Hermione sent Harry a questioning and pleading look. Harry sighed and, using newly acquired muscles, lifted his tail to her eye level. Harry begged, and would continue to plead to, the gods that he would _never_ have to hear such a high pitched squeal from his friend or any other girl for that matter. It was unnatural.

While Hermione was busy examining his tail, while tutting at Harry and telling him to sit still (it was hard! His tail was sensitive and he had to bite his tongue to keep from purring), Harry busied himself by pushing his memory of his meeting with the strange women named Amaterasu and placing it in the pensive. Not too long after completing this, Ron walked in with Neville, Luna, and Cho following. Neville grinned at Harry. "Hello Harry. How are you?"

Harry was ready to answer back with a smile of his own, but then Luna walked up and began rubbing both of his ears. Harry's reply died in a deep purr, his eyes closing in pleasure, the sensations of the rubbing on his ears caused a nice warm feeling to settle in his stomach and extend outward to his chest, legs, and arms, until finally he was completely relaxed on the bed, slumped over and leaning into Luna. When the sensations stopped, Harry snapped his eyes open and flushed at the group. Ron had been laughing so hard, he had collapsed on the couch, Cho smirked and covered her smile with a hand, and Neville was chuckling and gently holding Luna's hands in his.

"Control yourself Luna." He told her. Luna looked at him and pouted before giving in to her usual dreamy smile. She turned her gaze on Harry next.

"I am sorry Harry. They are just so soft. I couldn't resist." With that Luna wrenched her wrists from Neville's hands and went to sit in a chair on the right side of the bed near the stone wall of the infirmary. Neville shook his head at her and sighed, completely resigned to his fate with her strange habits.

"Forgive her Harry. Every time we come in here she makes a bee-line for you and starts to pet them. I really am starting to believe that she can't help it." He grinned at Harry in apology and patted him on the shoulder. "You were saying?"

"Er, right. Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Harry shot Luna some narrowed glances and promised himself to get a hat as soon as possible. Cho walked over and bent down to give Harry a hard hug.

"I was waiting to give you this. God I was so worried. I felt like I had lost the last of my family when I saw that curse hit you." She let go of him and sat on the edge of the bed. Harry knew what she meant. During the war only a few months back, Cho's parents, a muggle-born witch and a purebred wizard, died trying to give their only daughter a chance to escape the battle sight alive. Harry had been the one to comfort her before his friends and he were swept away on the horocrux hunt. To him Cho was as much of a sister as Hermione, Ginny, and Luna were. And to Cho, Harry was the last of her fictive kin, her only remaining family.

"Now," Cho continued. "Why don't you tell us why you seem to have a few new…attributes? I can give you a detailed explanation of what happened while we were trying to bring you back to life?" Harry, despite knowing why he had the ears and tails, nodded his head anyways, internally curious.

"Well, I had started my family chant in Old Chinese to our Guardian God and ancestors. While Hermione, Neville, Ron, and Luna were offering you as much energy as they could without, especially with Luna maintaining the Bolt shield, I was calling on my own internal, um, magic I suppose. But really I would call it spirit. I really didn't expect it to work, but I was willing to try anything by that point. So I called upon the family God, and a for a few seconds there was nothing." Cho paused for a moment and Ron jumped in.

"Nothing she says," Ron snorted. "The entire area went silent. We couldn't even hear our own heartbeats, but for some reason we could hear _yours_. And that was weird enough, since you body wasn't technically supposed to be alive, only your magic was, at least according to Hermione and Luna." Cho nodded at him and continued.

"Then there was a flash of bright light. It traveled from your head to your toes. I don't really remember what happened. You see my eyes were clo-"

"Closed. Her eyes were closed in concentration, but the light was very strong." Luna sighed, her eyes glazing over in remembrance. "It was very pretty though. However, it did run off the Snarkles." Here Luna frowned. "But otherwise it was too bright to see anything. For fear of being blinded, everyone closed their eyes or turned away. And I mean everyone. Even those who were yards away from us. You were quite brilliant Harry. Like a glowing Jestner, only more golden." Luna returned to her dreamy smile phase and the rest of the group just continued on.

"When we opened our eyes, you were just waking up. Ron was the first to notice the ears, and we found out about the tail when he went to lift you up and carry you to the infirmary, while Cho was carried by Neville." Hermione said. Harry gave Cho a worried look.

"Were you hurt?" he asked.

"Oh no. I was fine Harry. But performing a calling is very tiring. And as it was my first time, I lost a bit of my spiritual power, magical power, and physical power. I collapsed right after the calling ended. I wish I could explain it to you, but there are really no words to describe it." Cho answered, her eyes sparkling from remembering her experience.

Harry nodded and turned to the Pensive. "The memories of my 'almost-death'" he turned and smirked at the group, "are in the Pensive. You are all allowed to see it. That's what the lady told me."

"What lady Harry?" Hermione asked.

"You'll see. Go ahead. I've already lived, well, erm, wrong choice of words but anyways, I've already 'lived' through it, so just watch it already." Harry flicked his wrist to the bowl and then jumped out of bed to put on his clothes, which had appeared nice and clean on the stool next to the bed at that moment. An hour and a half later, the group watching the Pensive swung back in the room and turned to stare at Harry, who by now, was eating a rather healthy meal of cooked meat. Cho was the first to speak.

"Harry? Do you have ANY idea who that WAS?!"

"Um. No?" Harry looked at her confused, his ears twitching.

"Amaterasu! The Goddess of the Sun! The most beautiful Goddess to exist in the heavens! OHMIGOD! You got to see Amaterasu! WE! We just saw Amaterasu!" Cho was shaking in her excitement, her eyes sparkling like mad. Harry had to do a double take just to make sure Dumbledore wasn't secretly polyjuiced as Cho.

"Erm. Yeah. Oh yeah! Why couldn't I see her face?" He asked.

"According to legend," Hermione began, "Amaterasu was a Goddess of such intense beauty that any mortal to see her face at full value, died instantly. The shine of her face is said to burn through mortals, killing them with internal fires." Cho nodded her assent.

"I assume that out of respect for you, and us, that she hid her face on purpose. 'Her smile raises the crops, and her eyes brighten the day.' That's what I remember my grandmother telling me. She isn't altogether powerful, but she is one of the few goddesses just below the God King."

"Ah. So that's why I couldn't see her face." Harry just decided to ignore the other information, since he had no clue what any of it meant. He turned thoughtful eyes on Cho. "So what did it mean I had half a century to live here on earth? Will I die in fifty years then?" He stopped asking questions when Cho shook her head.

"No. I assume that it means you have fifty years of normal, okay as much as a normal life as possible here on Earth before returning to continue your commitment for Inari." Cho changed her wording a bit when she glanced at Harry's tail and ears.

Harry blanked for a moment. "Oh." For a second he was worried about what his friends would say. He only had fifty years with them? Thinking about it, Harry realized that wasn't as long as it sounded earlier. He looked up at them all, his eyes cloudy in doubt and pain.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that the time limit was so short. Fifty years sounded so much longer when Amaterasu said it." Hermione rushed over and hugged Harry tightly. Ron followed her and slapped him on the back.

"Don't worry about it mate. We have you for another fifty years after you were hit with a killing curse. I think that's more than enough to shove as much fun into life as possible eh?" Ron smiled at Harry reassuringly. Neville, Luna, and Cho gathered closer to him as well. Sniffing, Harry forced back the tears and instead focused on his 'family'.

"Your right Ron." Harry looked up with bright emerald eyes. "And how about we start with lunch?" He grinned as Ron laughed and the others chuckled.

"Stop that Harry! It's like you're trying to take Ron from me by using food."

Ron pouted. "But 'Mione! You never feed me like Harry does!" Hermione smacked him on the head.

"Just because Harry can turn packed chips and refried beans into a gormet meal that even a French Chef would be joyous about, doesn't mean you can use him for your own devious plans Ronald Weasley." Hermione told him. "Plus. I wanted to study Harry a bit more. This is certainly an interesting twist to the human anatomy isn't it?"

"Hey Hermione?" Said Neville.

"Yes?"

"If you want to study Harry you're gonna have to catch him." Hermione turned just in time to see a black tail disappear out the infirmary door. Hermione and Madam Pomfrey rushed out of the room and shouted in perfect sync.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER, COME BACK HERE!" they looked at each other for a moment and blinked before Hermione took off yelling, "He's mine first!"

"Children should respect their elders!" Shouted back Madam Pomfrey before briskly walking in the same direction. Ron and Neville were leaning against each other, laughing too hard to speak. Cho looked at Luna and giggled.

"If Harry thought Voldemort was bad, I wonder how he will react to being treated like a figurative 'research project' by Hermione."

Luna smiled truly for the first time that day. "He'll probably run to McGonagall in hopes of using her as shield against the inquisitive onslaught." She sighed worriedly. "Too bad she's in league with them." Cho laughed out loud and walked towards the great hall. It was a great, confusing, but still great day.


	4. Habitat Changes

Chapter 4: Habitat Changes

The years passed albeit too quickly and brought many problems for Harry. The Ministry of Magic found a new minister in a most peculiar person. Neville Longbottom, after a total of three years on the Wizengamot Council, was nominated by none other than the great Harry Potter.

"I nominate Neville Longbottom for position of Minister of Magic on basis of good faith and strong trust in his ability to lead and initiate needed social programs that both support inter group relations in the Britain Magical domain and remove societal prejudices and discriminations against muggles, muggle-creatures, and creatures." Harry had said to one of the last council meetings he attended.

The chaos that ensued after his short nomination speech was almost equivalent to the noise of the battle field at the end of the war against Voldemort. Harry had sighed long and hard, rubbing his forehead with his fingers in his annoyance. He finally just lifted his head and glared at the entire congregation, letting his anger wrap his magic around the room, until not a single person was speaking. They all knew too well how much stronger the boy-who-lived became during his battle hardened experiences. They dutifully watched him instead of speaking out against his judgment. Harry had then turned to Neville and asked if he accepted the role. Brought out of his stupor by the softly asked question, the former Gryffindor stuttered his acceptance. The Wizengamot then spoke softly amongst them before the new head judge of the DOM stood and announced Neville Longbottom the newly appointed Minister of Magic. After a few weeks in the position, Neville proved his strength and backbone from the war hadn't all been for show. He took policies and changes in the social magical world by the throat and garnered support from all the non-magical and magical creatures in the realm. And other than his odd love of growing dangerous plants (he was the first known minister to have a literal jungle in his office), the magical world grew to love his simple manner in society and his ruthless disposition in the Wizengamot.

After the problem of who to make Minister, Harry found himself once more with another problem. He wasn't aging. After years of working as the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, the fact about his appearance was brought out by one of his students. They had had a detention with him after accidently dropping some dung bombs in the hallway. The place smelled for a whole week, and the students that had to go through that hall for classes fared even worse. At that moment though, the boy was just writing lines and when he had finished and turned in the pages, he hesitated at Harry's desk for a few moments. Harry looked up from his grading and frowned.

"Is something the matter Gary?" He had asked.

"Sir… I know I am in my fifth year and all, but according to history class, the war ended over seventeen years ago didn't it?" Gary said hesitantly.

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "Yes Gary, you are right. The war did end eighteen years ago. Why is this bothering you now, son?"

"Well sir… You don't look any older now than you did then." With that, Gary had fled the room, and Harry stared at where the child had stood in a bit of shock. He walked over to a mirror and carefully observed his face. Gary had been right, Harry _wasn't_ aging. His face was just as smooth and wrinkle free as the rest of him, and he still had the body of a nineteen year old. Harry waited until that weekend to floo over to Hermione and Ron's House. They had gotten married two years after the war, and already had six children, three of which were attending Hogwarts.

Harry stepped out of the fireplace and was immediately tackled by Jordan, Hermione and Ron's youngest child. The four year old looked up and grinned, showing off her pearly teeth.

"U'cle Harry! U'cle Harry's here!" Harry had laughed and picked up the young girl, placing her on his shoulders. She squealed and laughed and Harry could feel her small hands running through his long hair, looking for his ears. He dropped the glamour, and resisted the urge to toss the child when she started to yank on the furry appendages. That night Harry had sat down at the dinner table with Ron and Hermione and told them about his conversation with his student a few days ago. Hermione and Ron took the time to study him for a moment and also agreed with Gary.

"The kid's right Harry. You look like you haven't grown at all. I mean. You don't even have wrinkles or flab!" Ron grumbled good-naturedly. The red head hadn't grown past his height of six foot five inches, but he did have some crow's feet at the corners of his eyes, a result of laughing and smiling a lot over the years after the war. Hermione had dark circles under her eyes, results of long nights and days of studying a new classification of Greek runes a group of wizards had discovered four years ago.

"Maybe we should start applying an aging glamour on you from now along with the glamour that hides your ears and tail?" Hermione suggested.

"That's great and all Hermione, but doesn't this just seem weird?" Harry, Mr. Boy wonder, was so used to these odd things happening to him that he tended to worry less about it. But he did wonder if his friends were taking the information okay. First we came back from the dead, then he came accompanied by a fox tail and ears, and now he figured out he wasn't aging.

"Truthfully Harry, we all kind of figured it was your magical and spiritual power that was allowing you to age slowly. That's why we never brought it up." Hermione explained. Harry thought for a moment.

"We? As in, Neville, Luna, and Cho knew this as well?" Harry asked and groaned when Hermione nodded. "I must be getting old in the head then if I can't even figured out that my own body hasn't been changing." He sighed.

"Well, at least I can still beat you at chess!" Ron said cheerfully, laughing at Harry's disgruntled look.

A few more years had passed and Harry smiled as Georgina and Fredericka Weasley walked down the graduation platform on the Hogwarts ground, accepted their graduation scrolls, and then proceeded to let light a firecracker under each and every seat out in the audience. Harry had laughed so hard when the firecrackers under Professor Jubilie's chair (the new potions mistress of Hogwarts) turned her skin neon pink. The potions mistress scowled but a sign of promised retribution sparkled in her eyes. Georgina and Fredericka smirked and calmly walked back to their parents sides. The twins had inherited the Weasley red hair and the original twins talent for pranking, but they had their mothers warm brown eyes, slightly curly hair that fell in waves down their backs, and their mother's ability to play off any situation as if it wasn't their fault at all. It was what made catching them so difficult. Harry thought them the best marauder followers out there, and George had already given them half of the store when they were old enough to help him run it. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes had expanded outside the realm of Diagon Alley. There was now a store in Hogsmeade, and a few chain stores in the United States magical world, Japan's magical world, Kenya's magical world, and then some. The shops did well, and most of the money went to help rebuild the British magical world. Everywhere one went there was at least one building with a plaque that honored the WWW's contribution. George himself had a small family many years after Fred had died. He had been in the throes of depression until Angelina had come back to Britain after she finished touring the world. She and George hit it off perfectly, both of them nursing the pains of losing their twins. Both had been married now for six years and had two children, Dylan, who was five, and Molly, who was two.

Harry watched the mob of red headed Weasley's congratulate the twins on their graduation before moving to sit down again at the request of an aging Minerva McGonagall. Minerva had seen her share of battle during the war, and had taken Dumbledore's death hard. He had been her closest friend while working at Hogwarts, and the witch had felt terribly alone when she took over the job has headmistress of Hogwarts. It wasn't until she had been able to convince Harry to come out of hiding from the wizarding world and work as a teacher, did she finally feel a spark of old happiness flame up again. Harry had engaged Minerva in many debates and conversations. Both of them had committed their share of small pranks against each other, until the newest Weasley twins entered the school, in which both Harry and Minerva teamed up against the newest Hogwarts pranksters. For a moment there the other professors didn't believe the school would be able to stand the brunt of the many different pranks throughout the years, but despite their Slytherin quality to get out of any trouble, the twins kept their pranks from ever causing direct harm to the student population, to which their mother greatly appreciated. Harry and Minerva had a great relationship, and Harry had started to see the witch as more of a big sister than as his hardened professor. No one could take Molly's place as his substitute mother, Harry had decided, but Minerva was a close second. He had helped him with his glamour's and adjusted the wards of Hogwarts to forbid any reporters and journalists from entering the grounds without explicit permission to do so.

Harry smiled gently at the students, parents, and professors, his eyes warming when the landed on Ginny and her husband Dean Thomas. They also had a small family of four children, and both worked hard, Ginny as a Medi-Witch, and Dean as an Auror. Ginny had long given up on Harry after the war, and Harry had failed to see Ginny as anything but a little sister. Minerva, Hermione, and Cho all constantly hinted at the fact of Harry's bachelorhood every time they got together for a reunion held every year on Harry birthday, but never really pressed him into finding a wife. Harry was secretly glad they never pressed it. He never had been interested in forming a relationship, first because of his failed one with Cho, but then it become more personal. He didn't want to leave a wife and any children he had behind when he was called back to Inari. It seemed a cruel fate to have happen to any family to lose a husband and father on a set date. So Harry stayed single, and deftly avoided the clutches of the single women around Britain who were constantly seeking to corner him at public parties. But Harry neither worried about it nor cared. He had all the family he needed with his friends. He was happy, and was glad to live peacefully after the war.

* * *

Harry stood watching his family on his sixty-ninth birthday. His aging glamour was down around his family, showing his still youthful face, ears, and tail. He walked gracefully around the large background of the Burrow while an old and tired Molly Weasley told her younger grandchildren of her family in the past, chuckling at some of the more hilarious moments. Hermione and Cho were busy cooking in the kitchen, and Luna was setting up tables and chairs outside with the help of her husband, Neville. The children of each family was noticeably different: Luna and Neville's three children had blond hair, despite the fact that Neville's brown hair was a dominant genetic trait, somehow Luna's magically trait overrode any part of Neville that could be seen in his children. If there was one child that inherited something from their father, it was their youngest, Carmen, who had her mother's blonde hair, but had one blue eye and one brown eye. She also had the sight, and was constantly switching from a serious look, to the dreamy smile that everyone found normal on Luna's face.

Cho had been married to a Japanese wizard who specialized in Magic to Muggle business and law. Hideki Atsuma had been a very laid back and happy man, and Harry had been happy to have known the man. He had died of a very serious form of cancer, leaving behind Cho and their two children, Kay Lin and Hiroshi, twins with their mother's raven black hair but their father's moss green eyes. Cho lived in Japan, taking care of the Atsuma family shrine while her children attended the Japanese school of magic. She worked as a warder, and was highly recommended for high end business that wanted their buildings protected. When Harry was on summer vacation from Hogwarts, and wasn't needed for anything drastic at the British Ministry, he traveled to Japan and would spend the summer with Cho and her family, giving silent support for each of them. Harry also liked the exotic and traditional look of the Atsuma house and shrine. If Harry had not felt such a pull in Britain, he would have lived in Japan with Cho and her family for the last few years he had on Earth.

Now they were all together again, and at the request of Harry, the last reunion with him was being held at his first so called home. The food smelled delicious and he mouth watered at the thought of beef and pork. Harry had acquired a taste for rich meat after his transformation; a trait Hermione has said was a side effect of being part fox now. Harry had only shaken it off, and accepted the fact that he liked meat more than usual. He walked around the yard, hugging and playing with the younger children. Once in a while he would stop and inquire on the lives of the older children.

"Georgina! Fredericka! How are you two?" The twins smiled at him, their husbands were a bit off playing a game of chess that Ron was watching carefully.

"We're going quite well Uncle Harry." Said Georgina.

"Just waiting for something fun to happen as usual." Fredericka smirked and glanced sideways at her younger sibling, Bill with his girlfriend, Kirsten, both making out rather loudly from across the yard. Harry cocked an eyebrow and smiled evilly, standing by the twins to wait for the chaos to begin. He didn't have to wait long. Bill and Kirsten suddenly stopped kissing and were now trying to pull away from each others' mouths. They both began to mumble incoherently, but neither seemed to be able to pull away from the other. Bill stood carefully with Kirsten and then glared balefully at the twins. Just then Bill's hair began to change, running through the colors of the rainbows before repeating the process. Harry began chuckling and then ended in a full-blown laugh at the look on the teen's faces.

"Oh man Billy. I knew you liked her mouth, but I never thought I'd see the day you'd actually glue yourself there." Snickered Georgina. Bill started to shout but couldn't because his mouth was still connected to Kirsten's. Kirsten rolled her eyes and smacked him upside the head. Bill turned red and calmed down, but he still continued to glare at the twins. A flash went off behind the couple, and Bill and Kirsten turned to see Ron behind them holding a camera.

"This is going on the family wall of fame Billy Boy." He chuckled at the look of horror on his son's face.

"Aw come off him Ron. You've tortured your younger children into submission long ago. When are you gonna start working on the twins again?" Asked Harry with a smile.

"When they finally stop outsmarting their old man" Replied Ron with a grimace. The girls snickered and patted their father on the head.

"Don't worry father. Sooner or later you _might_ be able to beat us."

"But don't expect it to be anytime soon, old man." George Weasley walked up and patted Fredericka and Georgina on the back. "Good show girls."

"Thank you-" Started Georgina.

"-uncle George." Ended Fredericka. Harry smiled along with George at the show of twinshipping their namesakes. Harry sighed and turned away, noticing that Hermione was trying to get one of the twins to counteract the prank on Bill and Kirsten and that Georgina's husband, Chris, had won the chess game against Fredericka's husband, Archie. Archie scowled at Chris, but was distracted by the trays of food that were being placed on the table. Harry smiled at the fact that even though the Weasley's all loved good home cooked food, they easily corrupted any non-blood related family member's to be the same way. Chris used to love Mexican food, and finally stopped eating it in favor of Molly's cooking, before her arthritis kept her from being able to hold a pan without shaking. Molly was getting older and now had trouble walking and casting spellings because she couldn't keep her wand movement's straight. After the third incident of almost exploding the food one night, Molly finally agreed to allow Bill and Fleur to move in with her. Their brood of children were long grown and lived throughout France and Britain, and unfortunately they were unable to make it to the reunion that year. Bill got called in to help rescue a digging team from a warded trap in the Amazon, and the process was taking a while. Charlie had died about five years ago, after a dragon's tail had rammed him into the side of a crate, crushing his skull. He and his male lover, Ken, had grown on the family, and Molly had accepted her child no matter who he dated or loved. Ken was living with Bill and Fleur, helping at Beauxbatons as the teacher for Care of Magical Creatures after Charlie had died. Ken didn't really have any family to go back to, and was eternally gratefully that Bill and his family had taken them in. So even though Charlie and Bill and co. were not present at the reunion, Ken was. Harry searched for the dirty blonde hair, and found him sitting on a bench a bit from the family, lost in his own thoughts. He smiled at Harry when the green eyed man decided to walk over and sit next to him. After a moment of silence and watching the Weasley, Atsuma, and Longbottom clans Ken broke the silence.

"It still hurts you know."

Harry smiled grimly. "I know. It's been fifty years Ken, and I can still feel the deaths of all those people in the war." Ken looked down, trying to hide his tears.

"I just… it's hard. I miss him so much. And I don't have any other family. Every time I come here I always envision him with me. I feel so awkward now that it's just me. I feel like I don't belong." A tear fell down and hit the back of Ken's hand where it rested on his lap. Harry turned and brought Ken into a warm embrace, letting the man cry silently into his shoulder.

"It shouldn't pain you. We are family, all of us. And you are as much a part of us as Charlie was. Don't you know that after Charlie died, Molly began to see you as something Charlie left behind? She focused all of the attention she did for Charlie on you after that moment. She loves you like a son, just like she has done for me." The words flowed easily from Harry. For years he had become a source of wisdom and advice for his family and friends. It was surprising how well he spoke when he wished too. Ken hiccupped and nodded into Harry's shoulder. "Don't feel left out Ken. The family is trying their hardest to keep all their members happy through the deaths of the past and the deaths too come. Trust me Ken, if they didn't want you here, than they wouldn't have invited you." Harry pushed the man back and brushed his thumbs under Ken's eye, wiping away the tears. He leaned forward and kissed Ken's head. "May the God's grant your soul peace." A tiny light flared under his lips, and Harry pulled away to search Ken's eyes. The blonde looked relieved and seemed to hold only a tiny bit of the sorrow and loneliness that was there earlier.

"Oi! Harry! Stop hogging Ken and get your arse's over here! It's feeding time!" Shouted Ron.

"RONALD WEASLEY! What did I tell you about using those kinds of words around the children?!" Hermione scolded her husband fiercely.

"Erm, to do it when you're not around?" Ron said back hiding a smile behind his hand. Hermione rolled her eyes and smacked him on the arm. "Abuse!" cried Ron, and was immediately mobbed by each member of the family. "ARG! I die!"

"Today we mourn the death of one Ronald Bilius (Ken Snorted at the name) Weasley. May everyone remember his great deeds in the war against Voldemort, and hopefully forget his pansy death: Squashed by Children." Said Harry in a fake deep voice of sorrow. He had managed to pull Ken along with him towards the group just as Ron was jumped by about sixteen kids, a few from each family present. Ron shouted his protest, and was allowed to get up when Cho announced that dinner was finished being set up. Harry joined the family and enjoyed the loud talking and humorous stories being told. Out of all the adults, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Neville, and Cho were a bit laid back, relaxing enough to let their family talk for them, while a bit tense over the fact that this might be the last time they would get to see Harry. After dinner and dessert, everyone stayed for a bit longer to talk, before one by one the smaller families disappeared. The only group to stay was the six original friends from the war. One by one they came to hug Harry and silently, without speaking out loud, they said their goodbyes.

"Have a good night mate. Be sure to keep watch alright?" Said Ron. Harry smiled at his friend, giving him both a handshake and a deep hug.

"We'll keep in touch somehow." Said Hermione after a tearful hug.

"Don't worry about the kids. We've come up with a plausible explanation for your vacation." Neville spoke next. Harry laughed.

"It doesn't happen to involve Cornfry's does it?" Harry asked.

"No. But it does include a side trip to the Bermuda's where you meet a group of selkies and get abducted by Gindergoons." Replied Luna.

"I've taught the more spiritual members of each family the calling. The only one I have seen that might be able to get to you in case of a dire emergency is Carmen. But hopefully the legacy will continue on down the line, spiritual powers or not." Cho said softly from his left. Harry hugged each of them.

"Don't worry guys. I promised myself I would continue to watch over you, no matter what the God Inari asks me to do. The family I love comes before any duty I have in the Heavens." The entire group smiled except for Cho, who understood that the Heavens rarely stayed the same and that Harry would more than likely change along with them. Harry flooed back to his apartment and fell asleep. Over the next three days he worked on playing the piano, an instrument he learned to play out of curiosity, checking lesson plans for the upcoming year, and rewriting his will. On the third night, August the fourth, Harry James Potter, The-Boy-Who-lived, the leader of Dumbledore's Army, the soldier who destroyed a dozen Death Eaters and then some, the young man who killed Voldemort and saved the wizarding world, helping to rebuild it to become something better, and the most loved Uncle in Britain, simply…disappeared.

* * *

Harry woke to find himself laying a soft bed laid out on a wooden floor. He recognized the style from his days of sleeping at Cho's house.

"A futon?" He muttered out loud. A bit of wind fluttered into the room from the open sliding door. It grew stronger, swirling gently into a tiny tornado before a young woman stepped out of it. Dressed in a traditional red Junihitoe with cranes and long dark brown hair tied up in a flowing pony tail, the woman stared at Harry with calm eyes full of laughter and mirth. She glided over to Harry, and she must have been gliding, for Harry could not see her feet, but she was too high in the air to be walking on the wooden floor. She leaned down and brushed her fingers against his cheek, causing Harry to close his eyes and purr strongly under the woman's spiritual powers.

"Welcome young one. You have come to start your journey in my services. I am Inari, God of the Harvest, the only God to have a contract with the Kitsune yokai. You have drawn my attention little kit, and in payment for fifty years of happiness on Earth, you must now serve under me." She stopped petting him and instead knelt on a plush violet silk pillow that appeared suddenly at the foot of his futon. Harry blinked at the woman for a moment before speaking.

"I thought you were a man?" He said hesitantly. Inari raised a silk clad hand and giggled into it. She then closed her eyes and began to glow. Harry blinked and saw that in the place of the pretty woman, now sat a tall man scars crisscrossing over his face and wearing a dark blue sokutai. A katana lay next to his side, and fierce gray steel eyes stared at Harry.

"Is this more to your liking?" the man said. Harry could only stare with wide eyes. "I am still Inari, God of the harvest. I have three forms here in the heavens: that of a man, a woman, and then one of which could be either, but is also none. I have long since forsaken the form of the fox for the more royal form of the humanoid Gods and Goddess. I watch the Harvest and the farmers. For those who do good by their lives and by me, their harvest shall be bountiful and their fate better than most in the scheme of mortal life." Inari held out a hand, and Harry was surprised to see a small light brown fox appear on an incoming wind. The fox dropped off the scroll in its mouth before disappearing again. Inari caught it easily and brought it forward he held it out to Harry. Harry took it gently and held it against his chest, his black years going back against his head in confusion.

"Touch the scroll and spend a few hours reviewing your new duties. The scroll will transfer all information and history about the heavens, our language, and our written letters. I have not the time to tend to you personally unless it is an emergency. Until then I do believe you need a new name." Inari smiled and in another flash of light, he became a woman again. She reached out and brushed her fingers against Harry's forehead.

"Such Beauty." She murmured, staring down into Harry's large emerald eyes. "Strong eyes, good structure, and health fur." She rubbed his ears, and Harry purred for her his eyes drooping. "And your past suggests a protector, a guardian, such a position that unknowingly promoted you to hero." She pulled away and Harry whimpered at the loss. Placing her hands out beside her she lifted her palms skyward and spoke in a voice full of power.

"I name you Takehiko Mamoru, grand prince of hero's." A flash of light on each palm and the two names flowed from her hands to fall along Harry's, now Mamoru's, back. They settled there, glowing warm, and Mamoru shivered under the heat, before the lettering disappeared into his skin.

"You should begin on the scroll young kit. You have much to learn and even more to do. The next few centuries are going to make the heavens busy indeed." Mamoru watched as Inari disappeared in a gust of wind. Thinking over his options, the young kit reached over and opened the scroll. Instead of having to read it however, the scroll spiritually took the information and let it flow gently into his mind. After a few seconds of panic, Mamoru realized what the scroll was doing, and allowed his occulmency shields to drop. The rushing information of the start of the heavens, the trials of the Gods and Goddesses', the failures of the mortal race, the wars of the yokai, and the contracts between spiritual beings and mortal beings, all this information came rushing to meet the eager man's mind.

"Wow." Said Mamoru. Finally, the scroll came to his duties and Mamoru smiled. His number one duty was to answer to Inari and to watch over the Atsuma clan. He could keep watch over Cho and her family! His next duty was to play messenger between the Underworld and the Heavens. The last Kitsune to have the job refused to go back to the dying lands after an unfortunate meeting with the sadistic Emma-O. The Kitsune had been so traumatized that it withdrew its contract from Inari, and instead became what was now known as the east to west wind of northern Russia. The termination had been over fifty thousand years ago, and the heavens needed a new messenger greatly to pass between the worlds. Inari believed that Mamoru would be able to hand the mean tempered God and so had assigned him that task. Mamoru gulped and lay back on the futon.

"Well. What an interesting way to start my new life." He muttered. Closing his eyes and allowing the information to sift through his mind as he rested. "I'm gonna need all the rest I can get anyways. I didn't think I'd be thrust into the Underworld so soon after receiving my duties. Could my life get any weirder?"


	5. Congressional Meetings

Chapter 5: Congressional Meetings

Takehiko Mamoru, once called Harry Potter during his mortal life span, walked coolly down the porch of Inari's traditional Japanese home. His black ears twitched with the gentle quiet that rested around the harvest God's outer home, with the occasional song bird breaking it with a beautiful trill. Mamoru wore a soft cotton based samue that was dark green to match his eyes, and sported a silver trim of flames that chased each other around the ends of the pants and sleeves. He also wore a silver sash around his waist where a copper sheathed Ito Maki Tachi sword hung, the sheath decorated with a copper nine tailed fox and bumping against his leg silently with each graceful step he took. On his feet Mamoru wore traditional black tabi socks and wooden geta's, which, despite their wooden design, landed silently against the wooden porch. His long black hair was tied back with a black leather thong that carried the traditional soundless bells that Inari required all of his servants to wear, including the guards. The bells would sound only for the death of a servant or if Inari was in distress.

Mamoru paused at the edge of some wooden steps leading towards the tree portal at the edge of Inari's garden, forcing the white fox next to him to stop as well. Her silver tipped ear's twitched and she scowled at the black fox with irritation.

"Is there a reason you had paused in your steps, Takehiko?" She asked, her voice flowing along the wind with a hint of a fox growl, like most of the fox servants sounded like when they spoke.

"Inari wishes me to send yet another scroll down to Death's Door."

"Again?! Did you not go yesterday morning? Why could he not have sent you both?"

Mamoru shook his head. "Who knows the Gods true intentions most of the time Kali. I hope I can only be faster this time. The moment I was there last, one of Her Shinigami had managed to corner me. Were it not for the guardian rule that stated I could prevent injury by self-defense, then I am sure I would have been well used by Her minions. Such ugly creatures. You are sorely lucky to not have to subject yourself to the torment of their realm, Kali." He sighed and held out his right hand. A light breeze flew into the garden shifting into the form of a tiny grey two-tailed fox, carrying a scroll by the string containing it.

"How are you my dear Shuzine?" Mamoru asked gently, his eyes smiling. The grey fox dropped the scroll into the open hand before leaping forward to nuzzle Mamoru's chin in affection. The black fox purred for the grey one. "I am glad to hear that. Return to your duties little one." The tiny fox gave a tiny bark and disappeared on another breeze. Mamoru chuckled while Kali rolled her eyes.

"I still have no earthly idea about what you have done to gain the confidence of most of the messenger foxes."

Mamoru shot her an amused glance. "Perhaps you should consider then that this is not Earth, but the Heavens. Your idea's may be more sensible then." Kali narrowed her eyes but held back a retort. Mamoru was a master of words, and it was difficult to try and win against such deviousness. A girl who died in America in the year 2079, Kali had a hard time adjusting to the way the heavenly beings spoke, and at times was subject to regress back into her American slang. She watched as Mamoru closed his eyes and concentrated on his magical powers. The green tendrils moved slowly around his body, cascading him in a wash of magic and forming a heavy black velvet cloak, complete with a shaded hood, in order to hide his face. Death's creatures were always looking for pretty items in the Underworld. Every beautiful shinigami was either a consort to some powerful demon, or were powerful within their own right, leaving them unable to be claimed by many of the dark creatures that existed on that realm. When he was fully covered, Mamoru nodded to Kali and disappeared in a vortex of black flames and silver winds.

He appeared on a stone platform lit only by the black flames that gave off an eerie gray light before disappearing completely, leaving the newcomer shrouded in darkness. Mamoru quickly expanded his senses, as he would be unable to use his eyesight at that moment. The cave was empty, of which he was eternally grateful for. The last time he had transported to Death's Door, he had barely any time to recognize his surroundings before a gathering of low level demons attacked him. In order to avoid more paper work than need, Mamoru continued to dodge the attacks before finally finding the leader of the troop. He had shifted his wind, crashing the lesser demons back while his hands went around the neck of the alpha, two sharp claws extended, ready to kill. Afterwards, the demons left, fully chastised for entering an area subjected for only messengers of the realms and for attacking a holy delegate of the Heavens. Mamoru quickly walked out of the cavern, his steps unbroken, even has he traveled past the hordes of demons eating the flesh of some unworthy opponent. A being learned quickly that if you wanted to survive here, it was best to continually exude a pose of confidence that quickly made a path through the lesser demons.

He walked gracefully towards the dark castle that housed the more infamous youkai and more importantly, the obsidian crystal of Izanami, unfortunate wife of Izanagi, and new queen of disorder and chaos. Emma-o sat next to her, constantly shrouded in darkness, only a single white withered hand could be seen, resting gently on a floating table of bones, next to a large white-gold balance beam scale. The scale itself was perhaps the only part of Emma-o that one really needed to lay eyes anyways. The white-gold appearance carried the ancient scripts of the Gods and Goddesses of old. One scale plate was plane gold, the other a sickening green. A soul was placed on the green and the scale would adjust accordingly. If the green plate became red, then the soul had lived a satisfying life worthy of the lesser Gods, and depending on which way it tipped, then the soul could either be reincarnated or left to watch over the family line in peace. If the scale turned black then the soul had been fairly negative in its life, and depending on how it tipped the scale, it would either spend eternity being tortured in the Underworld, or become reincarnated to hopefully regain a semblance of positive energy through new life. Emma-o thought it ridiculous to give these souls second changes, but Izanami had laid down the law as queen and stated that all souls, even those of negative energy, deserve a chance to redeem themselves before any lasting judgment is passed. As far as Mamoru knew, only thirty-two negative souls had been sent back for reincarnation, and of those thirty-two, only six had managed to gain enough positive energy to live peacefully on the lower realms of the Heavens.

Entering the large castle, Mamoru continued forward, only to have his path blocked by a very handsome shinigami. Caron held a human-like appearance with pure white skin and long raven hair that shimmered blue in the candle light throughout the hall. His non-human aspects were his long claw-like hands and his completely black eyes with three red slits running vertically through them. Mamoru paused, his heavy cloak resting gently against the floor.

Caron clucked his tongue. "Well well well. What do we have here?" He stepped forward, and out of protocol Mamoru held his place, allowing Death to move within touching range. "Another missive for my master and mistress? Surely you know, messenger, that your last missive left the master in a very bad state. Why, he almost destroyed the soul he was judging while my mistress read the scroll to him." Caron had reached out to skim his claws down the black screen covering Mamoru's face.

"I wonder, my dear messenger, why you cover your face so? Are you uglier than the creatures of Hell's bed?" Mamoru forced back a shiver. Hell's bed was where the more special cases of Earth were sent to be tortured. It had been said that to look upon a natural creature of Hell's bed would leave even the highest of Gods blinded for eternity. Mamoru stiffened when one of Caron's talons reached out to tear a hole in the screen, but relaxed when the shinigami was forced back from a lightening attack. Mamoru was unharmed and he turned to bow to the attacked before continuing on his path.

"You should learn to choose your enemies better, Caron." Said Selissa, the queen of the snake youkai. Caron turned and hissed at the demon queen. Selissa only smirked, showing off very long, sharp, and poison dipped fangs. "The messenger covers their face for the sole reason that their beauty would melt your own. The messenger is also stronger than most of the shinigami and many of the demon lords that exist upon this plane. Should I remind you about what happened to my late father when he dared to cross the current messenger?" A forked tongue escaped from her black lips to run across top lip in pleasure at the memory.

Caron shivered and shadow shifted away from the castle. The late Snake King Sessessmu, father of current Snake Queen Selissa, was killed quite violently by a surge of black magic from an unknown source. The carnage of the attack was sickening for most of the lesser demons, pleasurable for the higher level youkai, and disturbing for the shinigami. A creature with enough power to slice and dice the Snake King until each piece of his body resembled a the thin pieces of meat used in Chinese stir fry was something to take note of in the Underworld. Why a creature with power like that had yet to rise in the ranks to become a shinigami set the other Death god minions edge. Caron's eyes narrowed as he began to think of the implications that the Snake Queen spoke about to him. Apparently there was more to this messenger than just a simple black coat and mask. Caron decided to watch the messenger from afar for the time being. That choice seemed wiser than attempting to approach the messenger who was apparently allied with the snake demons.

Mamoru quickly entered the large circular chamber set at the center of the large castle. Before him floated a large jagged cut of obsidian, from which dark power pulsed continuously. The messenger lowed himself gracefully to the floor, bowing his head in respect to the new Queen of Darkness, Izanami. Behind her, shrouded in the shadows of the obsidian rock, floating bone table and white-gold scale in place, sat Emma-o, currently judging a lineup of souls. The bleak atmosphere had always been present at these meetings, but what set Mamoru on edge was the dark power the whipped out around the black stone in barely controlled anger.

"No! He should go back! He died to save another. Surely you can see that as well Em." Spoke the smooth voice of Izanami.

"One act of kindness does not belittle the atrocities this soul has done on the mortal realm. Rape, murder, thievery, selling slaves. This soul deserves no second chance Dark One." Replied Emma-o in his old all-knowing way.

Mamoru sighed inwardly. It was another age old debate. Does the soul deserve another chance or not? He decided to wait for the argument to end before stepping up and announcing his presence.

"We cannot review this souls mortal life entirely, Em, but even you cannot lie that the scale tips more in favor of reincarnation than it does in eternal damnation."

A breath of purple poisoned air came softly from the dark corner where Emma-o sat. Mamoru thought it resembled a sigh of some sort.

"Just because there are souls that comes close to the line of reincarnation does not mean that that soul receives a second chance. Izanami-hime, I apologize, but dying to save a soul that is darker than the one we are currently fighting over, does _not_ grant this soul the privilege of a second chance." Emma-o raised his gray wrinkled hand and clasped the soul. "**I, Supreme Lord of Judgment and Death, have decided the fate of this soul**." A red portal split apart to the right side of the floating table and Mamoru could not suppress the intense amount of fear he felt when the killer intent and sickly pleasure that encompassed the court room eagerly spread outward from the opening in Deaths' realm. "**Eternal Damnation. Two levels above Hell's bed.**" The messenger shivered and felt an inkling of pity for the soul as the withered hand thrust it through the portal. The feelings of darkness and glee swept after the lost soul, closing the portal with a small pop. A grumbling came from the obsidian stone and Mamoru took that moment to clear his throat loudly and announce his presence before Emma-o began to judge yet another soul.

"New Queen of Darkness, Izanami-sama and Supreme Lord of Judgment and Death, Emma-o-sama, I, sixth Guardian of Inari-sama, Great God of the Harvest, and appointed messenger between the realms of light and dark, have come bearing a missive from the high realms." After dolling out the long speech, Mamoru stood from his kneeling position, only to bow once more, both hands extended outward with the scroll held securely within them so that the two higher beings would be able to see it clearly.

"Ah, Foxxy-kun." Purred Izanami. Mamoru closed his eyes rather than giving into the urge to roll them. Izanami always found a new nickname for him every few visits or so. He was used to it by now. He stiffened slightly when the obsidian crystal poured waves of evil power around the room. "I hope you can understand why I am so tense. I am not so happy with my ex-husband and his last message." The dark queen growled softly.

Emma-o cut in before the power became too much for Mamoru. "Enough Dark One. Come young messenger." The withered hand turned palm up and stretched forward. "Let me see the scroll. You may wait next to the scale in case a reply is needed." Mamoru straightened and slowed his breathing. Gods. He would never understand them. He lengthened his stride and crossed the room quickly, avoiding the obsidian crystal at the center, and gently set the scroll within the hand of the Lord. He then took a step back towards the table and waited. A few seconds had gone by before the lord let out another poisoned sigh. Mamoru quickly leaned back to avoid the breath, but was saved the trouble of moving completely when the queen reached out with her magic and blew the air away from his body. Mamoru made a silent movement with his hand, signifying his thanks to the queen and was rewarded with a dark purr. The queen might have been angry with her ex-husband, but she found Mamoru to be an absolute delight. Why that was, Mamoru would never know, and he hoped to keep it that way. A flash of black flames erupted from the Lords' hand and the scroll was quickly turned to ash. Not a moment later another scroll hidden within an ivory bone covering replaced the burnt one.

"This is my reply young one." The hand waved dismissively and the bone scroll floated over to the black cloaked messenger. Mamoru grabbed it and hid it within his sleeve. "I do not understand why those on the high realms believed they need our votes for such a decision. But if it is any consolation, you should not have to visit us for a while yet. You can spend time at that family shrine you guard. Now, go. I have more souls to distribute throughout the realms. Mamoru grinned and bowed.

"Thank you for your time, Emma-o-sama." The old man grunted and continued on with his job. Mamoru turned and bowed to the black crystal. "New Queen of Darkness, Izanami-sama." With that Mamoru began to walk out of the room, shivering slightly when he heard Izanami's dark giggle following in his wake. He returned quickly to the transportation cavern, easily dodging the lesser demons as the lunged at him from behind dead bushes and boulders. Releasing his power, a gust of wind and dark magic propelled him out of Death's Door and back to Inari's outer house. He held out his hand and patiently waited as a small yellow fox breezed in, grabbed it in its jaws, and disappeared to report to Inari. Then with barely controlled glee, Mamoru closed his eyes and shifted into a black fox with silver tipped ears and four tails, each one also silver tipped. The fox shook out its fur before jumping into a wind and swiftly began his descent to the middle realm of the mortals: Earth.

* * *

"I SWEAR TO GOD DUO, IF YOU DON'T STOP ANTAGONIZING ME I'M GOING TO CASTRATE YOUR HAIR!" Duo Maxwell only laughed his ass off and continued running down the hall at Preventer's head quarters with a very irate Sally Po on his trail.

"Can't catch me you old bag!" Sally's eye twitched and she pulled a tranquilizer gun out of her harness. Duo looked back in time to dodge the barrage of tranquilizers. "Oh shit!" he quickly pushed the doors of the mess hall open and closed them, blocking them off with a few chairs from a nearby table, managing to thrust a few officers out of their own seats as well. Ignoring the yells of protests and anger, Duo quickly stood and watched as Sally continued to body slam the door. After a few intense seconds when the doors were eerily silent, Duo was forced to jump back when the chairs hold them were thrust away and the doors opened with a bang, causing the officers who were eating to stop and watch as an enraged Sally stomped in and aimed her gun at the smirking brunette.

"Now Sally…" Sally growled and her finger twitched on the trigger of the gun. Duo abruptly turned away and continued running.

"CODE PMS! CODE PMS! Code p…m…zzzzzz" The braided man fell heavily to the tiled floor of the cafeteria, a few red tranquilizers sticking out of his bottom and a grinning Sally proudly blowing away invisible smoke from her gun. Used to the odd occurrences from their resident Gundam pilots, the other officers just went back to eating and conversation. Sally touched a button on her wrist communicator and waited for an answer.

"Yui." Sally grinned.

"Hey there Heero. I was out walking and low and behold I found an interesting specimen to try out my new tranqs on." She said a bit too happily.

There was a pause on Heero's end before he spoke again. "Where is he." It was a command. Heero rarely lilted his voice at the end of inquisitive remarks, which made every sentence a monotone command in some form or fashion.

"Passed out in the mess hall. I hope you like sleeping babies, because this is the best thing to happen to me all week." She smirked at the sleeping teenager on the floor.

"Return to your duties officer Po. I will retrieve number two. Yui out." The link went dead and Sally could only sigh as she walked out of the mess hall and back to the medical ward.

"Heero has no idea on how to hold a conversation." She muttered.

Once Heero had collected Duo and placed him back in their rooms at the Preventer's dorms, he was called down to Lady Une's office. Walking by a few trainees, the stoic teen barely noticed as the other officers scrambled to avoid his path. When he reached the large office decorated in reds and burgundy, Heero took quick note of all areas of entrance, escape, where people were in the room, which had weapons, who was the weakest and who were the strongest. It was second nature to him, and Lady Une had stopped trying to convince him that her office was safe from attack from the outside or the inside. Heero stepped back beside the large wooden doors and leaned against the red walls. A few seconds later Trowa Barton and Quatre Winner strode into the room. Quatre gave Heero a small smile and sat down in one of two chairs in front of Lady Une's oak desk. Trowa leaned back against the west wall, closest to Quatre, and a with a great view of the windows and doorways. After them trailed in Chang Wufei. Wufei gave Heero and Trowa a glance before striding up to stand in front and to the left of Lady Une's desk, his feet spread apart and his arms crossed across his chest.

"Hello Wufei." Spoke Quatre gently. "How are you?"

"Quatre." Replied Wufei with a nod of recognition in the blonde's direction. "I am well."

Quatre smiled, but refrained from starting a conversation when Lady Une sat back in her leather chair and looked at the four Gundam pilots. Her glasses reflected back the light in the room, giving her a sharp and calculating expression.

"It has come to my attention that with the Earth and Colony alliance and the lack of missions, that the five of you have become a bit restless in your patience." She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. After a paused she straightened up again and glared at Heero.

"Yui. You have been sparring with the older officers in order to blow off some pent up steam, and when they refused a rematch, you began to challenge to younger officers and the trainees. We cannot afford casualties from within the compound." Heero just gazed back at her. Une transferred her gaze to Trowa.

"Trowa, the dorm managers have been complaining about a certain cat problem. I know you have an affinity to animals, but you must stop bringing injured pets into the compound and then conveniently forget to release them back outside." She turned to Quatre next.

"Quatre, you are not overall a problem, but you don't seem to be stopping your lover's attempts at bringing in animals. Also, I am afraid I might have to move you two to a more secluded part of the dormitory. There have been numerous complaints about the…noises from your rooms." Lady Une coughed away her blush, but Quatre had to bow his head to hide his red face. The blonde shot at glare at Trowa who only smirked back in reply.

"Wufei," Une started next, "You have been in and out of the compound without informing the panels on where you go. Rumors have been speculating from night clubs, bars, brothels and finally drug dealers. How they got spread I can only take a guess," Silently Wufei was plotting up many different, bloody, and painful ways to kill a certain loud mouth brunette, "but needless to say it does not bode well for the reputation of the Preventers. Therefore," Lady Une leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table, her hands in front of her face, "I am sending you all, including Duo, out on a mission." The four Gundam pilots stiffened in anticipation. Lady Une let a few seconds pass and would swear to Sally the next day that the killer intent in the room rose beyond any amount of measuring that could be done. Wufei growled and opened his mouth to demand she brief them on the mission, but Lady Une stopped him.

"Your mission is to…god on vacation!" She smiled at them and resisted the urge to press the big red button under her desk as Heero's fingers twitched to his gun and Trowa fingered the whip at his side. Wufei was not so silent in his surprise.

"Vacation? What the hell are you talking about?!" He demanded.

Lady Une narrowed her eyes at him. "All five of you are slowly beginning to cause collateral damage of some kind, Duo most of all, and I and Sally believe that a Vacation is just what you need. You need to blow off some steam and unfortunately there are no missions that currently need your attention. All the other officers have to take trainees out to get them experience in the field, and those missions are far below the standard you are used to receiving. The last time I sent two of you out on a low class mission that was ONLY to retrieve information, you managed to blow up half the building!" Lady Une hissed in anger. She took a deep breath and calmed herself.

"Plus, I believe it would benefit you all if you had a chance to kick back and relax and learn to act like a civilian rather than killers, soldiers, and most of all adults. You are all only in your late teens. Use this time to gain back some semblance of the childhood that was denied you."

"We are soldiers. We do not require time off. It is a full time job." Lady Une waved away Quatre's words.

"It is not and you know it. I know you joined Preventers in order to stay together, but the truth is Duo could have gone back to his garage, Trowa could have returned to the circus, and Quatre could have taken over Winner Enterprises. But you didn't. You chose to continue the life of a soldier. All of you did." She paused and glared at each of them. "The decision is final. Pack your bags. You leave at 1300 hours tomorrow on a shuttle to Japan. You will be spending time at an inn located at the bottom of Mount Nantai. From there you can travel where you want to on the island. There are even some natural hot springs and a fox shrine there from what I read in the reports. Your vacation time is three months. Heero, make sure to pack for Duo. Dismissed" With that the four pilots left the room.

After a few seconds of silence, Quatre said, "Well. It isn't a bad idea. And I have always wanted to enjoy some natural hot springs." Heero replied with a grunt.

"I cannot believe that Une is sending us away from head quarters." Mumbled an irate Chinese teen.

Trowa glanced at his lover before turning his gaze forward. "From certain world reports it has been said that Japan, although more technologically advanced, had managed to preserve much of its natural parks, shrines, and zoos. If time allots I would like to hike through the nature parks and see a raccoon dog." Quatre smiled at him. The four split at the dorms to head to their respective rooms in order to pack for the coming vacation.

At a shrine on an extinct volcano, a black fox appeared on the winds. It sniffed around the area, noticing that in its absence the shrine's pant had dulled and the wood had begun to rot. It had been over four thousand years since the last member of the clan had resided at the shrine. Since then, builders and contractors had come and gone, all trying to raze the shrine to the ground in order to build other things, such as houses and stores. But mysterious things happened around a certain perimeter of the shine. Though they had managed to tear down the family house and build an inn in its place, the area around the shrine could never be touched. Builders spoke of creepy noises and shadows that left behind freezing temperatures. Then the machines would die, unable to work until they were pulled back manually by many built workers. Builders would enter the perimeter only to disappear into the shadows of the trees and appear days or weeks later, half starved and completely insane, babbling things about vengeful spirits and gods. Needless to say the Atsuma clan shrine and forest was left untouched for many centuries, even as the war wore on.

The fox dutifully set about righting the overgrown plants and trees of the forest, bringing back green life and colorful flowers to the last item that tied it to the mortal realm.

* * *

_From the Author_:

This story is rated M because of language and potential gore filled scenes, but I wish to know how my readers veiw scenes of sexual content.

If you wish to see tame or Lemon (hard core) scenes of Male on Male then please review and leave your vote. If I dont get any vote reviews then I will leave the sexual scenes out and you can all wonder what happened. I wont even email them to you. I might not even write them. So readers, you decide what you want to read from my work.

Thank you,

Kitara Kujin

Votes:

Tame: 0

Hard-Core: 0


	6. Uno is a Fun Game, Duo is a quack

Chapter 6: Uno is a Fun Game, Duo is a quack

The plane ride to Japan from the preventers headquarters in Egypt was eventful to say the least. Okay. Scratch that. Not just eventful, but full of hair raising excitement that constantly kept four of the teens on the edges of their seats, while the fifth one dutifully gave into the call of his nature by slipping the pilot of the plane so many red bulls, the man had almost had a heart attack. In the end Heero ended up saving the day by charging into the pilots cabin, tossing the unconscious captain onto the floor, and pulling the plane back onto its course of trajectory from a very dangerous nose dive. From there the stoic Japanese teen didn't know whether to be angry at Duo or break out in hysterics at the braided man's enthusiasm to cause mayhem. Instead he settled for a very stern frown as he flew the plane while Duo sat telling him hilarious stories about the past hour.

"And then Heero, you know that stewardess with the blonde hair? The one with the melons the size of pumpkins, and who was trying to get into Trowa's pants? Anyways, she screamed so much that she actually fainted! Who in the world faints just from seeing a rubber snake thrust down her shirt?"

"Women do, Duo." Heero responded absentmindedly. The tall brunette was still a bit surprised by how he could relax around the American. Duo just did that to him, his voice soothing the 'perfect soldier' thought process in Heero's mind. Of all the gundam pilots, only Duo could get Heero to speak more than ten sentences at once in an atmosphere that didn't call for a do or die situation.

Duo nodded sagely. "That's right Heero. And that's why you don't date women." He gave Heero a proud smile. Heero just continued to stare straight ahead, not bothering to respond. But of course to Duo the silence was almost a whole conversation. He stopped smiling and frowned at Heero.

"Heero!" He cried pitilessly. Heero continued to be silent.

"Just because I like my hair long doesn't mean I am a girl! We've been through this!" More silence.

"And just because I let you fuck me every night doesn't count either!" More silence, but this time, a raised eyebrow accompanied it.

"That's it! I'm fucking you into the ground next time! Then we'll see who the girl is!"

"Hn." Replied Heero.

"I mean it Heero!" And with that the long haired brunette stalked from the pilots cabin back to the rest of the Gundam pilots. "Stupid Heero. Saying I'm a girl. I can't get a break from him!" Mumbled Duo. Quatre looked up from his book and smiled at Duo.

"Something wrong Duo?" He asked softly.

"Naw. It's nothing Cat. Me an' Heero just got in another argument." Quatre raised a brow at this, a trait he adopted from Heero. Duo sighed and continued. "He called me a girl because of my long hair!"

Quatre giggled. "Are you sure he said that Duo, or are you just insinuating that that's what he said while being silent the entire time?"

Duo stared at Quatre. "What? Why would I do that?"

"Because Yui rarely ever calls you anything degrading unless he has an audience around, and even then he rarely says anything." Answered Wufei. He was sitting across from Trowa, near the window, head leaned back against a pillow, and eyes closed.

"Hey Wu-man! How do you know that?" There was a pause in which Wufei opened his eyes enough to glare at Duo for the slip of the nickname. "Ohmygod! Are you checking out my boyfriend?!" Duo stared at Wufei with a look between slightly curious and absolutely horrified. Wufei sat up and sputtered.

"Shut up Duo! In case you didn't know, I don't swing for the oppressive silent types."

Duo waggled his eyebrows. "But you still swing for the team." Wufei decided to ignore that comment, and returned to looking at the inside of his eyelids. Duo sighed and Quatre looked at him thoughtfully.

"You know Duo. Did Heero really say something like that to you? You know, calling you a girl and all?" He asked.

Duo thought carefully brows furrowed. "Ya know. I don't think he did."

"You know he won right?" Said Trowa slowly, as if speaking to a mentally retarded puppy. Duo scowled at him.

"Like hell he did!" The braided teen growled.

"I bet you gave a bunch of excuses and then left without actually denying the claim of being the 'girl' in the relationship." Said Wufei putting in his two cents.

"He won." Repeated Trowa, not even bothering to lift his eyes from his own book about Japanese wild life. Duo frowned and then his eyes widened comically.

"Shit! Fucking asshole!"

"Duo! Language!" Exclaimed Quatre to the brunettes back as he ran back to the pilots cabin. He slammed the door open, and thrust his head inside, only to be met with a passionate kiss from a very tall and delectable Japanese pilot. Duo gasped and responded eagerly, fitting his body to his boyfriends and clutching at Heero's shirt. The long haired man gave a moan of arousal when Heero's hands drifted down to cup his bottom. Heero pulled away when he felt that his boyfriend has been thoroughly kissed. Duo's breath came in sharp inhalations and exhalations as the passionate kiss ended, leaving his body warm and his blood running hot through his veins. Heero smirked.

"I win." He said, before pulling a very willing Duo into the pilots cabin. There was some scuffling, and the unconscious body of the original pilot was tossed out into the aisle. Heero had left the auto pilot on, and had thrust Duo up against the walls of the cabin, kicking the door closed before returning to Duo's mouth, his tongue darting in and out of the American's mouth.

The back half of the cabin was left distinctively uncomfortable. Quatre tried to hide his red face by bending it low, and hiding it with his book. He shifted uncomfortably as the feelings of lust and love came in thick waves from behind the closed door of the pilots cabin. Unable to contain himself any longer, the petite blond stood abruptly, and with a glance at Trowa, hurried to the bathroom. Trowa calmly laid both his and his boyfriends books aside, and stood fluidly.

"Excuse us." He said to Wufei. He stepped into the aisle and followed after the blonde.

Wufei just sighed and shook his head. "Horny bastards." He muttered, and settled in to nap for the rest of the flight.

By the time they had touched down in Hokkaido, Wufei seemed thoroughly harassed. Twice he had to stop himself from punching the American windbag as Duo would break out with commentaries about Heero's manhood after they had had very loud sex in the pilot's cabin. Thankfully Quatre, more reserved and content after a full half hour in the small plane's bathroom, was able to coercer the braided teen to more clean and intelligent conversations.

The five preventers walked slowly through the airport looking around at some of the attractions just within the building. There was a clown making balloon animals for anyone who could answer a question correctly about Japanese history.

"Oh Heero! Do you think you could win me a balloon puppy?" asked Duo in English.

"Hn." Replied Heero, and Wufei couldn't even be bothered to figure out if that meant no or yes. Duo however, translated it easily. Wufei supposed that it must be easier to understand the tall Japanese teen if you were constantly hounding him like Duo did ever since the end of the war. Maybe learning by osmosis wasn't such a load of crock after all, mused the Chinese man as he and the rest of them trailed over to the Clown.

The clown was dressed in large purple overalls with patterns of yellow daisies traveling throughout the cloth. He wore a tight yellow shirt, large black and white checkered shoes that squeaked every time he took a step, and had on a very tall hat about four feet tall to be exact. The one thing that stuck out about this clown though, was that his face and neck were painted completely black, so the whites of his eyes stood out dramatically. He smiled at them, and for a second the pilots tensed. The smile with the glowing eyes and black face looked almost feral. They relaxed in almost the exact instant and Heero grabbed Duo's wrist, making sure the small teen was behind him.

"Young tourists? Oh my, but are you not Japanese young man?" Asked the clown in smooth Japanese. Due to their training and experience, the five pilots could understand the man perfectly, as well as speak Japanese along with French, English, Spanish, Chinese Mandrin, Russian, and a bit of Indian.

Heero just nodded, not giving away any clues. He was born Japanese but had never once visited the country except for during missions. This would be his first time experiencing his origins on a more personal and leisurely level of comfort. In a way he was looking forward to it, for the moment at least.

"Well then, if you can answer my question correctly, then I shall give you a free balloon animal?" Heero nodded once more to show that he understood.

"Ah! Good! Now, lets see what I should ask you, ne? I could say, no no no that's too easy." The man had a thoughtful expression on his face. "Hmm. What about…? No no. Too obvious. Ah!" He exclaimed and help up his hands, waving them in enthusiasm. "How about this, a riddle?" He went on before Heero could answer the question.

"A lover's quarrel set in stone,

was lead by silence.

It wrote upon a heavy tomb,

And gifted those who saw it.

By Edo's grace, she wore the comb,

But Toku-sama then forbid.

And to this day none has shown,

A single breast beneath it.

What is it?"

The clown stopped and puckered blackened lips as he stared at the teen before him. His attention was caught by the petite blond next though.

"What a unique riddle. Is that one usually told here in Japan?" Asked Quatre. The clown grinned.

"No sir. I made that up just now."

Quatre giggled. "It was very good then, for something on the spur of the moment."

"Thank you!"

"Kabuki." Said a monotone voice. The group turned to Heero.

"Kabuki? What's that?" Asked the blond. The clown did some more ominous moves with his arms before turning in a circle and pretending to fan himself.

"Maa maa. I really thought that one would stump you. So what did you want again? A puppy?" Duo nodded and the Clown continued after blowing up the balloon. "Kabuki is a traditional dance here in Japan. It's origins are based in the Edo period, and mainly focuses on romances and war. In much earlier times men and women could act in Kabuki but a Shogun named Tokugawa forbid women from ever acting in it again, and so only men play in Kabuki some as actual men, and others as women."

Quatre blinked a few times and then nodded. "Wow." He said simply. The clown smiled and handed over the balloon puppy to a very excited Duo.

"Before you walk off, I'd be willing to give you one more riddle for the road? Who knows. It might come in handy." And before they could protest the clown pushed onward,

"You never see them in the sun, though they are constant.

You never hear them in the silence, though they are ever speaking.

They've guarded you all your life, even when you thought yourself alone.

They come as birds and butterflies according to your books,

But when you see one you will know, how power really looks."

There was a pause before the clown began dancing around. "Can you guess what they are? Can you? Can you? Can you?" There was suddenly a drop in temperature, and the five teens tensed as a sensation of what felt like ice trickled down their spines. Out of nowhere come an influx of tourists and the G-boys huddled together to keep from being seperated. When the crowed passed, they searched for the black-faced clown, but he was nowhere to be found. Duo frowned, suddenly serious.

"That was abundantly creepy." He stated. Heero grunted and slipped his arm around his boyfriends waist.

"Can we go to the hotel? I would feel better if I knew where we were sleeping and how the area looks." Said Quatre. The boys nodded and began trekking through the airport to find their luggage and call some taxi's to pick them up. Their rental cars would be ready in two days, so traditional transportation would have to do for now. The taxi took them to a sea side dock, where they took a small boat across a lake to a peninsula across the way. They could have just stayed in the taxi, but the boat ride cut down half the time traveling than driving all the way around would have. Finally they reached a small hotel at the base of a small mountain-like structure.

"According to the Hotel brochure, this mountain is actually a dead Volcano called Mount Usu." Said Trowa. Duo grinned.

"Cool! Hey Heero? I feel like hiking up the mountain tomorrow after we get our bearings. Come with me?" Asked the American. Heero looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. Quatre smiled as well.

"I like that idea. Trowa?" Asked the blonde. The heavy banged teen smiled down at his tiny lover.

"I will go as well, little one." Quatre beamed at him.

"I think I will sleep in tomorrow and watch the rooms. When you return I will hike out on my own." Wufei said next. All five understood. They never left any of their belongings behind without someone there to watch it. Although they had taken nothing with them that was conspicuous and suspicious, Heero still carried his laptop everywhere, and within it many preventer files. The Japanese boy had the best security system in the world, hand-made and all, but it was better safe than sorry. They swept into the hotel, being greeted kindly by smartly dressed bell-hops and a traditionally dressed hostess who bowed deeply before them.

"Welcome to our hotel, Neisaka Falls. We hope that you will enjoy your stay and return for our services the next time you embark on a journey of business, pleasure, or both. My name is Miyazawa Kano, and I will be your hostess. You can call me by pressing the number one on your room phones' twice. If you are not near a room phone, I can also be contacted right here in the lobby. I am always on the first floor. May we take your bags?" She waved a graceful hand, and the bell-hops 'hopped' to it, intending to grab and carry the bags themselves. The five boys easily maneuvered their bags out of reach of the over eager workers.

"No thank you Ms. Miyazawa. We will gladly carry our own bags. If you would be kind enough to have someone show us to our rooms? The reservation should be under P-5-294." Said Quatre with a small smile. The hostesses eyes widened as well as her smile.

"Ah. You must be the Preventer's staying for a few months. Un-sama called earlier to remind us of your arrival. Your rooms are very special, so I will just show you the way myself ne? Please follow me." She bowed once more before turning and gliding down a hall to the left.

"Wont you be needed as a greeter though?" Asked Duo.

"Yes, but thankfully today has been rather slow. And since this hotel is my family's pride and joy, and I cannot help but want to show you our best rooms personally. Ah. Here they are." She stopped in front of a large oak door, and with much grandeur, opened them wide. "I hope the exterior and heavy wood doors did not give you the impression that all of our rooms are modernized. As you can see this one has strong walls surrounding four entire rooms, a kitchen, living area, two bathrooms, and game room. It even comes with its own sectioned off natural hot spring. You will have to hike a whole half hour to reach it, but no one else is able to enter that area. We have fences, both wood and electric, that keep out unwanted guests." She led them into the living area, and the boys noticed the very traditional setting to everything. The floors were a series of tough tatami mats, and all of the entrances into each room had shoji doors, not counting the heavy wooden one they entered through from the hotel.

"This is one of our most extravagant rooms, because it is more like a house than it is a usual hotel room. We usually reserve these for family members of high standing, like the prince, and their many advisors and relatives. And because of Winner-sama's wish to witness a traditional Japanese setting, we decided to open these rooms for you, as it is both secure and similar to a traditional Japanese home. You will be sleeping on futons, but if they are really not what you wish, we do have some extra hotel beds that I can ask some workers to move in for you. Just let me know if there is anything you need." She waited and when no one asked for anything or gave a question, she smiled, bowed deeply, and left the rooms, closing the solid oak doors behind her with a soft click.

The g-boys looked around the room with suspicion. Duo was the first to move, taking out a small device from his suitcase. It was fairly thin and long, shaped like a rectangle, and had a few random buttons scattered around a half circle screen. He pressed a few buttons and waited as the device activated. The screen glowed blue for a moment before it turned a distinctive green.

"All clear." Said Duo, sticking the device in a coat pocket. "This room is secure. No bugs or camera's. I'll go ahead and check the others." While Duo was busy debugging some of the sleeping areas and the kitchen, Heero and Trowa went around each clean room, looking for any hidden holes or secrets along the walls. Quatre and Wufei went ahead and began moving their stuff into some of the rooms already checked and cleared by Duo.

"The interior walls are thin, so if we need help we can just call for it." Wufei noticed. But Quatre scowled.

"Yes, but that means that all of us are going to be able to hear more than we wish to." He blushed a little and frowned. Wufei turned a little green.

"Great Gods Winner. Is that all you can think about right now?" Wufei asked, scowling.

"Once you get yourself a great guy, then you'll understand my inability to hold back when around Trowa. I have to admit, I don't think you'll find anyone better than my man though." Quatre gave an uncharacteristic smirk and patted a shocked Wufei on the back before moving gracefully from the room. Wufei stood in silence for a moment, and when he finally got over the random audacity of the petite blonde, he growled and shouted back down the hallway.

"Barton! Stop teaching Winner how to be pragmatic! And what if it's a girl?" he ended with a mutter. It must have been a bit too loud though, because Quatre yelled back, "When have you ever been interested in balls up top?" Wufei choked. "BARTON!" In the room across the hall, Duo was laughing his ass off.

"Oh God! Did little mini Cat REALLY just say that?" Asked the American, wiping some tears away. Trowa moved out of the room he was sharing with Quatre and smirked at the Chinese teen, causing Wufei to have a fit and start cussing them out in Mandrin.

Duo just laughed harded. "Ahaha! Hey Cat! I think Wufei is having a conniption!" He paused for a moment. "You know, I think that's the thrid one this week. And the cool thing is, I wasnt a part of it this time!" Duo scratched the back of his head. "Wow. You really need to get laid man." Thus the hotel was alerted by Heero, that no. The screams and loud begging for mercy was normal and that yes, they would be thankful if a few maids would be willing to come and clean up any mess they might have made in their excitement.

* * *

A few miles from the hotel, in the vicinity of the fence that housed the healing hot springs blocked off for the usage of those staying in the master sweet, such as the pilots, a young black fox with silver tipped ears and tail lay sunning on top of the newly cleaned Atsuma family shrine. The red paint had been redone and was now shining on clean sturdy wood, while the tiles of the tiny roof had been reset and washed in a dark brown. The old Japanese kitsune statues sat proudly, no longer chipped or cracked. The light brown wooden doors had been polished and waxed, and the hinges no longer squeaked when you opened them. And inside, lay a newly written scroll, containing the history of the Atsuma family, relative records dating back to the 1800s, and the legend of the Inari guardian. Of course it was all written in the language of the fox, with some subtle hints about how to decode it should a past family member return to obtain the family records.

But the little black fox that no matter how many years passed, the Atsuma and Chang families were gone. Trickling off into other smaller families, moving away overseas, selling the family house, and abandoning the family shrine. And though the fox understood the circumstances for change, it could not understand why there had been no one, not one, member of the family that had come to see the shrine in all the years that passed.

Then came the war. Yet another one involving the loss of many innocent lives and leaving orphaned families. Large metal machines had been built for defense purposes only, but the Gods knew that the human mind was fickle, and so none of the heavenly beings were even mildly surprised when an all out war started with these mechanical beasts. Mamoru had a few years to prepare for the humans, and had placed anti-muggle charms and wards of protection over the shrine. Powerful wizard magic that he mixed in with his Kitsune magic. Afterwards he had returned to play messenger between the realm of the Dead and the Heavenly Kingdom.

And now a few years had passed since the end of the war, allowing the young guardian to return to the shrine, left standing only by the wards that surrounded it.

The black fox yawned and sat up from its position on a tall boulder it had conjured. There were the standard eight, once again standing in a circle around the shrine. Out of endless hoping, the fox had also cleared the path from the springs to the clearing where the shrine stood.

Suddenly, the fox tensed and sat very still as the snap of a twig alerted it to the presence of another being. Out of the underbrush slithered a garden snake. Although not native to the land, Mamoru had brought a few over because they were non-poisonous and had a kind disposition most the time.

_:Ah. Massster fox. Welcome back:_ hissed the snake. The black fox shifted in mid jump as it sprung from the boulder to land silently on the ground beside the snake.

_:Hello dear one. How hasss the magical world been lately?: _Asked Mamoru while brushing is now waist length hair out of the way. He would need to conjure a leather thong to tie it back later, but for now it wasn't too much of a bother.

_:It goesss asss well asss could be expected. They have been rebuilding sssssince the end of the warsss:_

Mamoru nodded and sat down beside his new friend.

_:Tell me dear one, from which great serpent did your line hatch under, for it has been many decades since I have last occupied this shrine. The Gods have kept me busy: _

The snake gave a hissing chuckle. _:I according to the stories of your last visit, you would know the serpent Asssleen, about three generationsss back from me alone.: _

_:Ah. I do remember Asssleen. Ssshe had a penchant for causssing missschief among the sssmaller creaturesss.:_ Mamoru smiled and held out his hand to the snake. She slithered up is arm and twister herself about his neck. _:Would you like a name little one, or did the serpents before you grant you this?: _he asked. The snake's forked tongue flicked out to tickle one of his fox ears.

_:We are not named. You resssserve that right for you, massster of ssssnakes. Though I hear that another hasss taken up that mantle recently. There are only a few of usss who have remained by your sssshrine. The ressst have long ssslithered off to find and confirm thisss new massster. I have not heard back from any of them.: _Hissed the nameless snake.

Mamoru felt a pang of loss from her comment. He had not expected another parseltongue to have been born, since Tom Riddle and he had both died childless. He assumed however, that a snake God had perhaps felt the need to grant the gift to a new line. He sent a quick and silent prayer that this new gifted child be given the wisdom that so many are left without, to use the gift for something productive and relatively good, rather than evil or unlawful. It wasn't an empty prayer. Being a heavenly being gave him some rights, such as sending prayer requests to the front of the line. But just like any other prayer it could be discarded just as easily into the one of the waiting bins. It didn't hurt to at least send one though.

_:Then I ssshall name you ssshall I?:_ He lifted a finger and rubbed the snake between the eyes. She hissed in pleasure and flicked her tongue out against his cheek. _:Sssince you are the hatchling of Asssleen, I believe I ssshall honor her, and you, by giving you the name Sssaleen. Does the name meet your approval young one?: _Asked Mamoru.

_:It does master. Thank you.:_

Mamoru sat down against a tree. _:Now. Tell me what I have missssed sssince my time in the heavensss.:_

_:Sssince the war hasss ended, all hasss been peaceful, and more humansss roam thessse landsss. They build more large housssesss to fit many of their kind. But most just ssstay for a few daysss and leave, while new ones come in and repeat the processss.:_

_:It sssoundsss like a hotel:_

_:What isss 'hotel' Massster?:_

_:It isss a place where mortalsss visssit to relax before returning to their own homesss:_

_:How odd.:_

Mamoru didn't bother to agree or disagree with her. _:Tell me more young one.: _

_:The ssshrine hasss been encasssed in sssome sssort of barrier. It keepsss the predatorsss out, and sssome of the humansss.:_

_:That is good, isn't it?: _Asked Mamoru.

_:It alssso keeps out mice and other small prey, and at timesss even I have trouble leaving. It shocked my tongue when I tried to sssmell it.:_

Mamoru frowned. That sounded like an electrical fence. _:I shall remove the obstacle as ssssoon as we are done.:_

The snake, eager to leave and hunt elsewhere outside the obstacle, quickly listed everything it had been able to take note of, including the fact that the family hot springs were also surrounded by the fence, and the fact that five young humans had taken up residence in the nearby 'nest' out of the large 'hotel'. Mamoru thanked Sasleen before having her lead him to a part of the fence. He noted the wires traveling around both wooden and bamboo posts. He understood the wires that were up high were meant to keep out larger animals and suspicious people, but the lower ones made him frown. The shrine was open to all creatures. As long as they resided peacefully in its vicinity, then none would be cursed. Asleen spoke many times to both prey and predator within the grounds of the shrine, hunting only outside the boundaries of the spiritual energy.

Mamoru leaned down and waved his hand over the fence, cutting the wires apart and short circuiting the fuse box they were connected by. And to make sure no unsuspecting animal got caught within them, he removed the lower half of the fence, calling the wires to him and then twisting it into a ball above his hand. He then concentrated on calling some fox fire, allowing it to burst from his fingertips to engulf the ball of metal, incinerating it completely. By the time he was done, Mamoru has panting just a little. Simple magic, like conjuring and calling, were easy for him since he technically had two cores, a wizard one, and a spiritual one. But because of his inattentiveness to train in some of his spiritual ability, his fox fire and other kitsune powers tired him out.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. That should do it. For the moment, he would let the humans try to fix it a few times, before ultimately scaring the workers and renewing the old idea that the shrine was haunted. Mamoru shrugged and smirked. Who knows? Maybe he would actually scare the hotel managers with nightmares and floating objects. Ah sometimes being magical (and spiritual) were worth it as long as you could prank.

* * *

Hard Core (Lemon) won by a long shot. In porportions data it would have been 2 out of 23 reviews for soft scenes.

So here is what I am planning to do. I will NOT write hard core lemon scenes that DO NOT effect the story line. Thus the mini scenes in this chapter were not elaborated on, because they would not have been productive to the story. There WILL be lemon later. You will have to wait for it. It will be great. I wont give you pansy lemon.

I WILL block off the lemon scenes so that those who dont WANT to read them, can just skip over them. There will NOT be a chapter JUST for lemons. Single lemon chapters are very weird, and usually turn into sex marathons that people who perfer soft sex scenes do not usually appreciate.

Thank you for your time,

Kitara Kujin


	7. Eye of the Storm

Chapter 7: The Eye of the Storm

The next day dawned with a bright red sun and a partially clouded sky. Over the forest that surrounded the tiny outcrop of house, that seemed rather small and insignificant to the large brick hotel connected alongside it, sunlight tried with meager results to pierce both the gray obstruction of clouds and the immense foliage below it. The end result was cochlear mixture of color that flittered along the forest floor like fairies welcoming the day. And although the house had been constructed with main sleeping rooms towards the East, the hotel blocked in any and all morning light. This however, did not keep the five trained men within the house walls from waking on time, a life learned lesson and habit so unbreakable that none of them had so much as thought to disturb the schedule. Thus the former gundam pilots woke and went about their separate morning routines as normally as possible in a new area.

Heero woke immideately at five in the morning, sun or not. The perfect soldier was at once alert and extremely aware of his situation. He was not in the dorms at Preventer HQ and the smell of utter cleanliness and bleach had been removed and replaced with that of a wet, moist, humid, and musky scent that Heero would later identify as both the natural odors of the mats in the house and the bamboo outside it. A warm body curling into his side caused him to stiffen for only a few seconds before the scent of well washed steel and his boyfriend reached his nose. Heero relaxed and turned his head to gaze at his lover. He sat up slowly and turned his upper body towards Duo and began run his hands through the long bangs upon the other teen's forehead.

Duo sighed and opened his violet eyes slowly. When he became a bit more coherent and was able to see Heero after blinking the sand from his eyes, Duo smiled. The smile was not the long-haired teen's large and obnoxious happy-smile, but rather a small genuine smile that went perfectly with the shadowed eyes of his past. It was this smile that called to Heero, the secret smile that Duo presented to only one other person, Father Maxwell. With slow movements and controlled grace, the Wing pilot bent to tease the boy's mouth below his, pressing a soft warm kiss to his partner's before nibbling gently at the corner of Duo's mouth. The violet eyes closed and the smaller teen groaned, opening his mouth to allow the tongue licking at the seam of his lips in. What commenced was not a battle of dominance, nor did escalate an intense heat. It was a very sweet and loving kiss, which assured both teens of the other's love and commitment. The kiss ended with a contented sigh from Duo as Heero pulled away to rest his head at the crook of his lover's neck, breathing that singular scent known as Duo, along with the scent of steel, from the many weapons that the boy carried upon his person all day and night, the exception only when the two slept together. They held each other and drifted back into a sea of bare consciousness, the known factor of no missions or HQ disturbances leaving both teens with nothing better to do.

In the room across the hall, Quatre and Trowa woke simultaneously. The taller man lay partially on top and curled tightly around his smaller companion, hugging the blonde to him like a child squeezing their favorite toy in their sleep. To some the positions might seem odd- that a man as tall as Trowa had yet to suffocate the smaller teen in his sleep seemed surreal. But because of his training, Quatre easily withstood the weight of his boyfriend as they slept, using his body heat as a second blanket (for the tiny blonde was easily susceptible to the cold nights anywhere). Trowa on the other hand, had an almost animal-like attitude during the moments where he let his guard down, and many of those moments happened during his sleep. Every night the tall teen would sleep lying prostrate and stiff next to his companion. Only when he was sure that Quatre had fallen asleep did the auburn haired man allow himself to relax. During his fourth cycle of sleep, right before REM, Trowa's instinct would lead him to turn and wrap the tiny body next to his into his arms. Quatre figured the idea was similar to how a wolf protects a pregnant mate, usually wrapped around them or laying guard at the front of the den. And even in the new environment of the hotel Trowa still managed to maneuver their bodies with Quatre against the wall, and Trowa's back against the door, so that in the case of an attack, Trowa would be hit first as well was be in the better position to reach under the pillow for his gun and shoot, while knocking Quatre to the side of the bed for a more solid shield. It was the moments like those, waking up to see Trowa wrapped tightly around him, that Quatre felt the love for his boyfriend well up from deep within his tiny body, almost spilling over in tears. That instinctual protective and loving embrace that Trowa's body conducted on its own without the conscious mind truly making the decision was a moment of absolute truth for the young men. At the moment of their wake, both teens blinked away the dust in their eyes and smiled at the other. Their surroundings were taken in with a quick glance around the room before Quatre leaned over to capture Trowa's lips in a small but loving gesture. The taller teen quickly deepened it and turned Quatre onto his back, moving his own body to pin the smaller man down. Quatre almost groaned, but chocked in surprised when Trowa quickly tickled his side. The blonde glared balefully at the man above him.

Trowa grinned. "If you want to continue uninterrupted then this game will have to be played silently, my little one."

Quatre almost moaned again at the implications, but was quickly hushed by Trowa's mouth. The young blonde couldn't help but let loose a tiny whimper.

"Well, I suppose that means we will have to change the rules a bit." Trowa said when he pulled away. Quatre almost cried when the other man stood up and walked across the rooms to their bags. Instead, the blonde lay on the futon, panting and trying to get his raging erection under control. A sudden hand stroking his member caused Quatre to gasp in surprise, and his eyes widened when a balled up bandana was stuffed into his mouth, another one quickly being tied around his head to keep it in place. The blonde shivered and looked at Trowa with lust filled dark blue eyes.

"There is one more for your hands if you even think about trying to untie the gag." Trowa said with a sadistic smirk before continuing to kiss his way down his lovers' milky skin. Quatres' groans were stifled by the obstruction in his mouth and his eyes rolled back into his head as his boyfriend pulled delightful shivers of pleasure from his body.

No matter how well Trowa could stifle his and his lover's sounds of pleasure, the insistent rocking noises against the floor through the thick futon managed to rouse Wufei from his bed, grumbling the entire time. He had awoken at roughly the same moment as the others had, but was willing to lie in bed and consider his options for the coming months of leave. He supposed he could learn a bit more about Japanese life, since he had yet to truly comprehend the lifestyle outside of his ancient Chinese morals and militant years. Unlike Heero, Wufei had not been trained to be a killing machine. His studies in life focused on becoming the perfect soldier with a taste for Justice and perhaps a bit of vengeance. Heero was a man who in the past would willing listen to orders from a machine and carried them out with deadly precision. He neither questioned nor doubted the objective of the missions or what they would achieve. He was raised a mindless killing machine, and for almost a year Wufei had believed him incapable of having emotions or a heart. And then Duo had banged his way into the soldier's life, literally, shooting him twice upon their first meeting. Wufei smiled at the story of how the two met. The American had been able to rip off Heero's shell and disintegrate his emotionless façade. It had almost driven the Japanese man insane, but Duo had been there to pick up the pieces and rearrange them to create a mosaic so unique, that now no one could doubt that Heero was a human being, though stoic and stiff most of the time. In the end Heero had drawn them all together, Duo had been the glue that made them stick, Quatre had the means to make their lives more convenient, and of course where Quatre was Trowa went. So where did he fit in?

Wufei snorted. He had no clue. But he could tell you where it got him- Right next to a room with very thin walls where stifled sounds of pleasure and vibrations along the ground that reached outward from its inner room. So there he was, up at dawn once again, getting dressed in a light weight, loose, black tank top and flowing white meditation pants, tied at the top with a sewn in string, and quickly hurrying from his room as silently as possible, knocking on Heero and Duo's door to let them know he was heading out. Quatre or Trowa would make breakfast later, or Duo would call for it and Wufei knew better than to try creating food after he had burnt the toast…and set the second floor west dormitory kitchen on fire. He accomplished nothing but tea and he only made that for certain occasions. So his only options were to wait in the living area for someone to call or make food (since Wufei refused to speak to anyone in the hotel without at least calming down), or he could travel outside and meditate somewhere. The hostess had said that the gardens for these rooms were magnificent. Perhaps it was time to prove that theory with practical evidence he himself would collect.

Wufei slid the doors leading to the large garden open, stepping through them quietly and landing on a wooden porch, before sliding the doors closed. The garden was a combined sea grasses and forest flowers with a few currant bushes and long grass clusters shuffled along a stone path that led upwards along the mountain side and surrounded by a thick crop of bamboo, of which stray stalks had been cut away and removed so as not to overpower the softness and variety of the garden structure. He walked along the main path before branching off to follow a set of large stones leading around one of the largest koi ponds within the bamboo circle of the garden. His reason for doing so was perhaps the unerring fact that the side path was one of two that came with a foot of the bamboo fence. Wufei knelt along the rocks, his toes bent almost in half by the crouch, but his body flexible and well balanced as a dancer, kept him from falling over. He inspected the electrical wire that ran throughout the long green stalks and frowned in contemplation. The design of such a fence usually included at least three to four electric wires: one near bottom, a second at thigh height, a third at elbow level, and a fourth wire at about five feet off the ground is the buyer was paranoid enough to buy the extra wire and have it placed so far in the air. The fourth wire didn't matter as much and the other three, and what had caught the Chinese teen's attention was the fact that lowest wire, the ground level one, meant to knock out a seven year old child, or in most cases to hinder the advancement of grown adults seeking treasures beyond the fence, was missing. It might have been a mistake in the set up, but Wufei doubted that the prestigious hotel at which the five teens were stationed would have made such a tactical error on their part, especially if one considered the advanced security systems just within the entrance way and lobby.

With a raised eyebrow, Wufei stood quickly and set himself a mental note to ask Ms. Miyazawa about the fence later and perhaps inform her of the missing wire. The Chinese man took a sweeping look across the garden, his black eyes pausing to rest on some of the more colorful flowers and plants, such as the white and pink lotus that rose elegantly from the garden floor to stare haughtily up at the sky as if demanding the oncoming clouds to part and allow the rays of the sun to drench them. Or the Yuki Yanagi, whose twisted stems reached outward towards the path and Wufei amused himself with the idea of the white branches coming to life and reaching out to snap at his slippers. He shook his head.

"I'm starting to catch some sort of psychological disease from that American." He said with a scowl.

Wufei glanced back at the sky and noticed the every darkening dawn as the grey clouds moved ominously through the red depths.

"I don't think anyone will be hiking today." He glanced at the mountain path heading upward and then back at the house where the two couples had yet to remove themselves from their beds. "Exploring never hurt me. The worst to come would be getting drenched while returning." With that thought the curious boy began a brisk walk up the stone pathway.

Eventually the stones began to lengthen in distance from each other before dwindling to nothing but a dirt path. The sound of bubbling water reached his ears, and he sped up his pace, a little eager to be seeing a natural hot spring. He walked through an entrance of tsutsuji of all colors, gaily tickling the bottom of his pants, while the bamboo overhead drooped in a sort of natural arch under the weight of the heavy leaves at their tops, unable to be trimmed because of their height. Only a few feet from such a grand entrance, and Wufei stood looking at an outcropping of rocks with a small spring lying within their depths. The steam and scents of the plant life gave the Chinese man a feeling of such utter peace, that he had almost changed his mind about going back just so he could strip and feel the warmth of the healing waters on his war beaten body. However, it was going to rain soon, and although the spring was warm, there was still a chance of him catching a cold if he was to mix within the two different temperatures of the tepid water and the freezing rain.

Giving an uncharacteristic sigh, he turned to move back towards the house when something in the water caught his eye. A dark shape seemed to be getting larger under the thin film of the waters' surface. Wufei stepped back until his body was shadowed with the help of a few large bamboo stalks. He watched in shock as the black shape broke the water in a graceful movement, to reveal a man.

Wufei, being a raised soldier studied the intruder thoroughly. He was small, probably about the size of Quatre, with almost the same body build as well, slender, but not lacking in a good size of muscles. His raven hair fell in a wet mess down his back only to disappear into the water, but if Wufei took an educated guess we would assume that the man had the same length of hair as Duo. The Chinese man narrowed as he tried to get a look at what seemed an assortment of scars on the man's chest when a flicker on top of the strangers head caught his attention instead. Wufei almost fell backwards in shock. Ears? Similar to a fox because they were too large to be a cats and too wide for a dogs. He watched, caught in some sort of spell as the ears moved of their own accord. _They were real?!_ He stopped that train of thought immediately. That was not right. _Where did my analytical skills go? Probably out the door alongside a certain man with a braid. _Wufei thought bitterly. _I should go cut it off. When Heero isn't around. Or alive. Yeah. I'll leave Maxwell alone for now while the perfect soldier is occupying the same country. _

Suddenly one of the ears swiveled within seconds towards Wufei's hiding place. The intruder's head turned just a quickly and piercing emerald eyes stabbed at Wufei's heart.

"Wo cao!" whispered Wufei in a state of absolute awe as he stared back at those eyes from the shadows. Then there was a burst of wind so strong that Wufei had to close his eyes lest a foreign object get caught and damage them. When it stopped he lowered the arm he had raised to fend off some of the wind from his face, and looked over at the spring. There was no one there. He quickly scanned the area and felt a shiver of fright run down his spine. There were no wet foot prints on the rocks, and the water was eerily still, as if no one had occupied them that day. What was most disturbing for the Chinese solider was the fact that the strong wind that had blown through the bamboo encompassed hot spring chamber had created to debris. The flowers were in perfect shape, just as they were when he had entered, and the bamboo looked untouched. With a calculating look he turned and walked back down the path, trying to work out if he had truly seen something unreal or if he truly had gotten the crazies from Maxwell.

* * *

"Fucking shit!" Mamoru cursed. "What are my brains made of? The arse of a horse? How the bloody hell did I not sense him!" The small man flowed through the forest naked, cursing all the while, sometimes speaking in different languages if he ran out of things to say in others. Finally he reached the shrine and entered the protective circle of stones. He relaxed immediately, allowing the ancient magic to wash over him, welcoming him back to his home for over a good few centuries now.

_"Sssaleen?"_ He called out. The garden snake untangled from her camoflouge among the bamboo and slithered along the leaves until she reached one that lay hanging over the shrine roof. She dropped gently onto the tiles and gazed at Mamoru with unfathomable black eyes.

_"Yesss masssster?" _She answered.

_"How isss the hunt?"_

_"Much better now that the el-lick-table thing hasss been removed. More prey hasss chosssen to return to the area around the ssspring. I have managed to sssatiate my ssstomach with a wondering mousssse."_

_"That isss good, and it isss 'electrical' not el-lick-table."_ Said Harry. _"I have encountered a human today for the firssst time in asss many asss two centuriesss."_ The kitsune began to pace between the shrine and the entrance rocks.

_"Ssso? You have ssseen them before. You even went lassst night to inssspect the hotel."_

Mamoru growled. _"This was different."_ He whipped around the stare at her. _"The human… he wasss able to sssee me."_ Seeing that Saleen had no idea why that was important, he continued. _"Humansss ssshould be unable to sssee me at all, essspecially when I am sssso clossse to the family ssshrine. Magical beingsss and Ssspiritual beingsss may be able to detect my presssence and pinpoint my location in a room if I am far enough from the ssshrine and not paying attention. But to _sssee_ me isss almost unbelievable. But he wasss ssstanding there! Ssstaring sstraight at me!"_ Mamoru let out a random hiss of anger. _"How isss that! How isss it that a human hasss ssseen me? One who I am sssure carries no magical nor ssspiritual power?!" _He ranted out, knowing the Saleen would not have an answer for him. His tirade had been spoken so fast that Saleen had a hard time discerning the sounds of parseltongue that were rolling from the messenger's mouth. Still, she understood the gist of it, but was useless in the area of knowledge that her master needed. So she wisely kept quiet, watching Mamoru stand quietly as he calmed himself once again.

His ears perked up and his tails twitched before he turned to look at Saleen with a contemplative expression gracing his face. "Not that it isn't a bad thing. The man probably believes himself insane and me a figment of his imagination. But still," and here Mamoru frowned, "for there to be a mortal with the all seeing eyes is disturbing especially one without any manifested power. Ah well." He waved his hand has if tossing aside an annoying fly.

"Forget that for now. We have more important things to accomplish." He gave the snake a small grin. "I believe it is time to reintroduce ourselves to this year's hotel employee's ne?" The snake gave a hissing laugh and quickly slithered onto Mamoru's arm when he reached out for her. The kitsune ran on swift winds to the large brick building. He paused for a moment within the roiling clouds, sensing for any mortal with an ounce of power. There was a Catholic priest within the lower left wing of the hotel, but he had not the power nor the care to search for evil while on vacation. Smirking, Mamoru fled swiftly down into the crowd. The humans could neither see no sense him. There were a few who did wear certain amulets or signs to ward off evil, the usual superstitious group, but Mamoru avoided them anyways. Touching a holy protection usually disrupted his spells and allowed a few people with a small bit of inherited power to be able to see him, if only for a few seconds.

He noted that it was almost lunch time and eagerly fled into the cafeteria. He called the winds to darken the sky with the soot colored clouds. His emerald eyes becomes slits as he grinned, showing off very pearly white and shiny fangs, his kitsune side bringing out the more mischievous part of him. He snapped his fingers and watched with glee as the lights flickered before going out completely. There were a few screams, but mainly just a lot of hushed whispers. Figures, Mamoru frowned. They probably thought it was lightning. Ah well, more the surprise then when…

The lights suddenly flashed back on and people screamed before running from the cafeteria in a panic. Women fainted left and right, and children cried loudly, afraid because their parents were. Many people even began to puke after seeing the new items on their plates. The hotel attendants were shouting for order and for people to calm down, but it truly was a gruesome sight, causing quite a few of the uniformed men to go white. One even passed out.

Mamoru laughed at his crude joke. Upon every plate being eaten from was an assortment of insects, blood, and human body parts. One woman, who had yet to touch her meal when the lights had gone out, had received a full human head with gouged out eyes. Ah, fox fire illusions were the best. They seemed so realistic when Mamoru thought about it, especially after witnessing an elderly man withdraw a severed and half chewed finger from his mouth before screaming like a girl and pissing himself. The smell of puke, bile, piss, and even feces finally drew a frown to Mamoru's face. Gross. Couldn't people control themselves?

He snapped his fingers again and the lights flickered back off and on in a blink, the illusion disappearing just as quickly, leaving nothing but food on the plates (or the ground for those who had knocked the hideous scene away from themselves). There was a moment of complete silence before a woman shrieked, demanding answers. The banshee was like the bell of a fight, setting the other hotel inhabitants to start picking themselves up and cleaning up as much as possible before storming through the lobby towards the reference desk and the manager's office.

Those who had not been within the cafeteria at the time look at the mob with confused eyes, until a woman, who could barely control herself, began the gossip mill. Mamoru laughed as within forty minutes every single visitor to the hotel had heard of the outrageous scene on the lobby floor, most of them very farfetched from what had actually happened.

The kitsune floated on air and giggled as he heard a man tell his wife that he had heard from his neighbor who had overheard his son talking on the phone with his girlfriend that someone had told him about there being zombies in the cafeteria. It was a grand moment. Humans were just so fun to mess with. And although it wasnt in his nature to be so grotesque, Mamoru believed that by strategically making a grand entrance the mortals would be one edge and all they would need after that is some random occurence or coincedence to send most of them packing. Hopefully he wouldnt have to intervene for a while now. With that thought, Mamoru flickered out of existence, traveling back on the winds towards the shrine, thinking of even more awesome tricks to accomplish on the mortals residing too close to his home.

* * *

Almost there. I promised to try and get at least eight chapters in before the end of the year. Let's see if I can keep to it.

I would like some feed back on the story and my writing please. And I am considering writing in the rest of the Trowa/Quatre sex scene... still undecided on that one yet.

I replaced the chapter titles in the scroll bar with the actual chapter titles rather than just numbers.

Cheers.

~Kitara Kujin


	8. Lost and Found

Unfortunate events seem to occur around the hotel from that first day. Luggage would go missing and end up hanging on tree branches around the hotel. Various underwear could be seen glued the the walls where public eyes could see them. Satalite TV was broken so only the porn channels were available. Multiple calls from empty rooms asking for room service. Maids being locked in the laundry room for one to two hours and other various pranks.

The high gentry had already left, leaving only fanatics and those who believed the pranks were being done by teenagers. It was a logical solution after all. After that first night at the cafeteria, Mamoru decided to tone it down abit. He wanted to scare the humans away, not cause them to have heart attacks and die on the land of his shrine.

Wouldnt that be absolutely horrible? The Inari shrine, known for protecting villagers and bringing bountiful harvest, would have at some point become a cursed burial ground for the unfortunate souls that could have died of fright.

'Such weak creatures,' thought the Kitsune. He floated through a few hotel walls watching them go through their daily hiegene routines. Blow drying hair, straighting hair, burning hair, shaving mustaches, shaving legs, shaving...what the hell? Oh gross.

Mamoru quickly excited the room of an older woman and shivered in thought, 'I wonder if the men do that too.' His face went a little pale at the thought. The idea of a razor so close to that...area... was just too close for comfort.

He never understood the reasoning behind making oneself beautiful. He carried his scars with pride and sorrow. Each one represented a battle of life and death, and the fact that he carried them now only told his enemies one thing: I've been through hell, and I'm still here to face you.

But of course he also did not realize that after becoming a warden for Inari, his own beauty far outmatched the simple wonder of mankind. It was easy to condem those who tried everything for perfect beauty, when one themselves already has such a thing.

But such thoughts would not pass Mamoru's mind for some time, being so out of touch with his past human life. Instead he focused securely on a new source of entertainment (or worry depending on the situation). The young chinese man who had seen him four days ago had seemed to dissapear in the hotel and Mamoru had yet to locate him. He wished to seem for himself if his discovery would lead the humans on a war path to the hidden springs and therefore to the shrine behind them. Mamoru hoped he would be able to manipulate the young man into believing he had only been dreaming that morningat the springs, a simple day dream prehaps. Such a thing would not be hard for the Kitsune to conjure within the man's mind. All he had to do was search for him.

The Kitsune frowned. He had follwed the trail from the spring back to the hotel but had only found four other young teens, none of which had been able to see him. He considered heading back there again just to be sure the Chinese man was certainly not part of their group.  
"Mommy! Moommmy! Where are you!" Mamoru's ears twitched at the soft cry from down the main hall of the forth floor. He turned a corner near the end and found partially hidden behind a hallway lounge chair a little girl with golden tousled hair tied back in a messy ponytail. She wore a simple white dress with pink lace edging and purple leggings beneath them, though her shoes seemed to be missing. She was also holding her left wrist gently and crying very softly for a child her age. Mamoru believed her to be five or six.

The little girl hiccuped and sobbed again "Mommy!"

Mamoru's heart ached. Children were a weak spot for him. They were innocent in so many ways to the cruel world around them. Watching a hurt or sickly child always made the Kitsunes stomach churn. He breifly considered the consequences and decided that a simple "I found a lost child" scenario would be fine as long as it was a simple "here she is, goodbye" type.

Concentrating he allowed himself to become visible, hiding his ears and tail under a glamour and changing his Inari tunic into a stylish black pinstripped suit and tie. To hide the magic sheen in his green eyes, he conjured some fake eye-glasses and then effortlessly tied his hair back in a simple ponytail so that it would not get in the way.

He calmly approached the child and kneeled down in front of her giving her a soft smile.

"Hello little one. My name is Nishi. Are you lost?" The little girl stopped her crying and instead looked up in awe at the very pretty man. At least it looked like a man. He was tall like daddy, but had long hair like mommy.

"M-mommy went someplace." Mamoru cocked his head to the side.

"Well then, shall I help you find her?" He held out a slim fingered hand to the child and waited patiently as she studied him with tear glistened eyes. Coming to some conclusion, the girl, now known as Riki, softly placed her uninjured hand in his. Mamoru helped her up and gathered her into his arms.

"Oh! I hope this isnt to high for you now. I wouldnt want you to suddenly go flying off and leave me here now!" he joked with her as Riki giggled. "Now let me see your left wrist. Does it have a boo-boo?" Riki nodded. "Want to see some magic? A little magic goes far in healing a big bad boo-boo." The blonde ponytail bobbed as she nodded her head with a large smile.

"Do you know magic mister?" She asked freely.

"Why yes! Would you like to see?" he placed two fingers at her wrist and a soft blue light appeared. When it faded the young girl gasped and moved her wrist, which was now free of pain. "Well, while we search for your mother why dont you tell me how you hurt yourself?"

He started for the elevator which he would then take to the first floor so he could talk to a hotel employee. "Riki was supposed to stay inside the room where mommy and daddy were at, but mommy left. Riki was bored so Riki opened the door and saw a BIG hall! Riki likes to run so Riki ran and ran and ran!" She grew quiet a bit but Mamoru was patient and was rewarded only seconds later. "But Riki ran to hard. Fell down and hurt my hand." She eagerly reached behind Mamoru's back to touch his hair.

"But then Nishi came and made it all better! Why is your hair long like a mommy's?" Mamoru smiled akwardly.

"Ah because I just havent had time to cut it. Do you think I should cut my hair? It might make me look more dashing." He had to hold in a giggle as the child had an odd look of concentration on her face.

"No!" she decided. "Your hair is pretty! Makes you pretty!" she announced with a huff.

"Then I will not cut it." he said with a chuckle.

They reached the first floor, and he quickly spotted a hotel busboy. "Excuse me, I have a lost child here that I found on the forth floor after coming back from a business meeting. Is there anyone looking for a child?" The young boys eyes widened.

"Ah! Not that I know of. Let me call a manager and we can see what we can do about it." He excused himself to find a manager and Mamoru found an empty chair to sit in while they waited, the little girl sitting happily in his lap trying to put small braids in his hair that he knew would be an absolute pain to remove later.

A light breeze from a door sliding open behind him and to his left caught only a mild amount of his attention. However the in drawn breath and the heavy hand landing on his shoulder caused him to stiffen and look up at a young man in a white business suit.

"Hello," said the man with a sultry tone, "I don't believe we have met before. Do you frequent this hotel often? I usually remember such a handsome face." Mamoru studied the man. He was young, probably still in his twenties, brown hair slicked back, evened eyebrows that must have been plucked at everyday, a thin mouth curved in an inviting smile and almond round eyes with a fake blue hue, probably from contacts.

Mamoru frowned internally. Despite the ma's good looks he gave off an air of absolute debauchery and loosness. On the outside he smiled kindly and shrugged the hand off his shoulder (which was giving him bad vibes). "Ah, no we have no met. I am just staying for the night while my boss attends a meeting with corporate in a building a few blocks down. I am just helping Riki here find her parents." He bounced the girl in his lap so that the young mans' eyes would be drawn to the child there.

The brown haired man frowned a bit at the child before putting on another oily grin (leer, Mamoru noted). "Well why not give me your room number then? Im sure I could swing by after her parents are found. Maybe have a few drinks?"

'Okay. Starting to get annoyed now' thought Mamoru. "No thank you. I have much work to be done before my boss returns. Please leave now."

"Now dont be like that." The man leaned into Mamoru's space. Way too close. "Missed a few hours of work won't get you fired. And I am sure you could use some loosening up no?"

Mamoru frowned for real this time. "Please leave. Such conversations should not be held in front of a child."

"Come on babe. Its just a kid. Not even yours." Mamoru's eyes flashed red, but before he could respond a cool voice from behind the man did it for him.

"I believe you have been asked to leave. Not only are you bothering the man and the child he is helping, but you are also blocking the entrance into the hotel." The business suit scowled and turned around to face a young Chinese man. Mamoru's eyebrows went up in surprise at finally seeing the man again. The black eye trailed breifly over to Mamrou before focusing intently again on the suit. "Are you deaf? Move, you are in the way." Although they were of the same height the Chinese exuded much more power and confidence, and though Mamoru was sure the man in the suit couldnt see it, the Kitsune could see quite well how the man was wiry and built with muscle, and taking a stance that was defensive in case of an attack.

"Just walk around man! I was standing here first!" The Suit scowled at the other man. Wufei raised an eyebrow.

"Your actions are dishonorable. Such behavior should not be done upon an unwilling party and neither in the presence of a child. You will turn and leave now or I will force you to." The conviction and belief in the man's voice caused Mamoru so shiver in pleasure. It was not often you found such gentlemen in this era. He sounded almost like a samurai taken right out of the story books. Or a knight from Camalots round table. Mamoru was both impressed and pleased. The sentence both protected his honor but also did not make him out to be a defensless woman. It was enlightening to say the least.

However the Suit did not like that at all, and considered the words a threat. "Look here! I was here first okay! He as clearly agreed to come with me either way so it does not involve you. So back off. And I also dont feel like leaving. What are you gonna do about it fuckin' punk?"

Riki gasped. "You said a bad word! You mommy gonna punish you now!"

"Shut up brat! Mommy aint here so I can say whatever the fuck I wa-" He never got a chance to finish as the chinese man punched him in the stomach and then round house kicked him in the face, knocking him out.

"Such a foul mouth." He spat, then he turned to look at Mamoru. "I hope you can forgive me for that act of violence." Mamoru grinned.

"Not at all. The air seems fresher now with that man no longer hitting on me."

"RIKI!" a femine voice called out from the left. A short plump woman with a fetching purple dress on and an expensive emerald and diamond hair peice came rushing down the hotel entrance floor as fast has her high-heeled shoes would take here. A man in a hotel Manager's suit followed at a slower pace behind her so as to not step on her feet.

"Mommy!" Shouted Riki, causing Mamoru to flinch from the loudness. He didnt see the young man's eyes next to him follow the movement closely with his eyes, watching something only a litle taller than his head supposedly move.

"Oh thank god! I went down the hallway for ice for only 4 minutes and I came back and you were gone! I was so worried someone might have snatched you!" She hugged her daughter to her chest tightly. "Oh thank you so much young man for finding her!" She smiled kindly at Mamoru.

"It was no trouble at all madam. I am only glad that I was able to help. If you will excuse me now I have work to do before my boss returns from his meeting." He bowed to the woman and hotel manager.

"Of course of course! Don't let us keep you! Again thank you so much!" The woman bowed back a little, still holding Riki tightly. The child smiled shyly at him.

"Goodbye mister Nishi!" She said cutely. Mamoru smiled and walked off towards the elevator again, hoping to dissapear quickly. Luck was not on his side however has the young Chinese swiftly entered the elevator with him.

All was silent as the doors shut and as the last click hit in place the man quickly hit the stop button and then turned and slammed Mamoru back to the wall of the elevator, a strong hand around the Kitsune's neck. Mamoru bared his teeth at the man and just only managed to stop himself from hissing.

Dark eyes glinted at him. "I believed my eyes had decieved me, but here you are. Your clothing is different and though they are hazy to my eyes, I can still see the ears and tails. What are you and what the hell are you doing here?" Snarled the man. Mamoru glared back and silently wondered how the hell he was going to do damage control on what he now knew was a Spitural Median.


End file.
